Love Bite
by Richan MMI
Summary: Voldemort's gone, but Harry doesn't know what to do with his life. Will Remus be able to help him? Slash! RLHP Hints of SBSS
1. Chapter 1

Love Bite

By Richan

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. If I did, I wouldn't be out looking for another job...

Warning: This deals with mano a mano (man to man) – love style. If you don't like that, please hit the back button.

AN: A fluffy little romance between my two favorite characters: Harry and Remus. (Although Snape is a close second!) Please review; my ego needs a little reassurance from writing my first in-depth HP slash fic. Let me know how I can improve. Please, no flames! I've already warned you what this story was about!

  Harry breathed a sigh of relief as he sat back in one of the seats in the compartment, his black hair flopping into green eyes that no longer needed glasses to see.

  Ron and Hermione gave him a sideways glance as he turned to them.

  "What was that all about?" Hermione asked as the train slowly left Kings Cross.

  "That," Harry grinned, "was my relief of never having to go back to the Dursleys!"

  Ron laughed along with Harry as Hermione gave them both a disgruntled look.

  "I still don't see why Dumbledore had you go live there this summer, what with Sirius being free and everything. Plus the fact that Voldemort is gone..."

  Harry shook his head. "Both Sirius and I agreed that it would be better for me to stay with the Dursleys because of all the protection of the wards. Since there are still a few Death Eaters that haven't been caught yet, we all agreed that it would be better for me to stay with blood relatives, even though they have no magic, than to stay with Sirius. Besides, Sirius wrote and told me that he spent most of the summer at the Ministry trying to organize and reclaim everything of his that they confiscated after his arrest."

  Ron nodded his agreement as Hermione tossed another look at Harry.

  "Is that the only reason?"

  "Yes!" Harry looked a little irk at Hermione's questioning. It didn't particularly help when he still had Vernon's question of 'So, you're never coming back?' ringing in his ears. He just wanted the subject to be done and over with. But, he also knew that he would have to explain everything before Hermione would stop. "Sirius couldn't very well protect me when he wasn't going to be there."

  Finally Hermione let up on the questions and settled back in her seat next to Ron, eventually telling the other two in the compartment about her summer travels with her parents.

  Harry shook his head in disbelief as the two drifted into a conversation of their own making, leaving him out completely. It was fine with him. In fact, he was feeling a little restless, and he figured that Ron and Hermione wouldn't even notice he was gone if he just stepped out for a few minutes to get some air.

  Sliding the door open, he looked back and saw that neither of them had heard a sound he had made. Shaking his head again, he shut the door and made his way to the end of the swaying train.

  It was strange to think of everything that had happened over the last year. He really liked the idea that Voldemort didn't threaten him any longer - he had finally ended the battle a little over two months ago. When the news had come out, most people were surprised that the Killing Curse hadn't ended the war, but an old and forgotten curse - technically illegal, but the Ministry was quite willing to waive the charges on it - that had sent Voldemort's soul to the depths of hell.

  Harry had reasoned that since Slytherin's heir wasn't quite willing to let go of his mortal body, he would use that to his advantage. Voldemort would be expecting him to use 'Avada Kedavra' the next time they met, but Harry wasn't about to do any such thing. He knew that Voldemort would bide his time like he had the first time he and Harry had ever met. So, instead of creating a situation where that would happen, he would get rid of Voldemort once and for all by destroying his soul. Well, his soul would be condemned to the demons - a fitting place for a man who had killed countless wizards, witches, and muggles in his quest for world domination.

  Another sigh escaped Harry as he thought about some of those that had been lost this go-round with Voldemort. Hogwarts would seem much different when they arriving for the Sorting and Welcome Feast. There would be no Hagrid to greet the first years, which pained him a lot. The half-giant had been the first person he had met from the wizarding world, and had also given him his first true birthday present. It had been hard to look at Hedwig several times over the last few months, as the memories of Hagrid would seem to explode when he saw the snowy owl. Only recently had he been able to think of Hagrid when looking at Hedwig without wanting to almost break down in tears at the grief.

  He also knew that he would miss seeing several of his classmates at the table for Gryffindor House. And it would seem strange to not see his Head of House bringing the First Years into the Great Hall for the Sorting. Professor McGonagall had been killed last Christmas, protecting the few students that had stayed over the holiday from a Death Eater attack at Hogsmeade. She had taken several out before one had managed to hit her with the Killing Curse.

  Gryffindor's common room had been draped in black, even at the end of the year out of respect for her. All the students had agreed that it would be a hard task for anyone to fill her shoes, even as several of the teachers rotated McGonagall's house duties through the end of the year, as the teacher who had taken over her Transfiguration classes didn't feel he would be able to handle it.

  That made Harry wonder whom they asked to become head of Gryffindor, not to mention Deputy Headmaster or Headmistress. Dumbledore would still need a replacement for when he stepped down from his position, which he had hinted he would do after the end of this school year. Harry was torn at that thought. At times during the second war with Voldemort, Dumbledore had seemed almost indestructible. Other times, though, Harry had seen the terrible strain and grief the old wizard was going through. Many times he would ask for someone from the order to complete a task and they would never return.

  Harry hung his head, letting the wind and noise of the train muffle the sob that fought its way out. The order had grown to be over fifty people, and only twenty were left. Nine of the original eighteen were still alive. Of those who were left of the order, two had been horribly injured to the point where Madam Pomfrey could not heal them. And Ginny... she would never recover from being held under the Cruciatus curse for so long. She was like Neville's parents, unrecognizing of anybody. Her body was perfectly healthy, but her mind.... Harry couldn't think about it.

  Snape was one of the two who would have to deal with their injuries the rest of their life. The former Death Eater had been injured in the fight that had killed McGonagall. Voldemort's orders, besides the capture of Harry (which didn't happen since he wasn't even in Hogsmeade) had been the death of his unfaithful servant. Snape had survived, but he no longer had the use of both legs. A falling building had crushed him, snapping his backbone cleanly through his spinal cord.

  The Potions Master had not really recovered from the incident physically, but mentally he had become tougher on his students. That had been somewhat surprising, since Madam Pomfrey had stated it was usually the other way around. He no longer favored his Slytherins in everything, but dealt with each student as fair as he could. That didn't mean that he still had a scathing wit or was horribly prejudiced about certain things, rather that Snape didn't have to hide his spy status from his students.

  "Harry?"

  He whipped his head around to find Remus Lupin standing in the door of the last car. He was a little surprised to see him on the train, and if he had known he would have sought him out.

  "Yes?" Harry was surprised that he had been able to pull his thoughts together enough to utter the word. They still felt scattered.

  "Why are you out here? Ron and Hermione have been wondering where you went," Remus said as he shut the door and joined Harry against the railing.

  Harry shrugged. "I needed some fresh air. Besides," he grinned a mischievous smile, "they went into lovebird mode, and I can't handle much of that."

  Remus smiled at that. "I can understand that." He looked over at Harry. "So, when are you going to bring home some lovely lady to Sirius?"

  This time Harry grimaced. "Not anytime soon, and definitely not a lady."

  One golden-brown eyebrow arched at this. "Not a lady?"

  Harry stared at his feet. He had told Sirius about his supposed 'love life', but he wasn't sure how Remus would react.

  "No. More of a male persuasion."

  "Ah."

  The answer was maddening to Harry, since there was so much it could say. It made him a little uncomfortable as he stood next to Remus.

  "I see. Then you follow the same path Sirius and I do."

  Harry's head shot up to look at Remus, who wore a sympathetic look on his face. Relief swept over him as the older man smiled at him, releasing the tension that had built up within Harry. Nodding, he turned his attention to the scenery that passed them by as the train continued its journey north.

  The two men stood in silence for sometime before Harry turned to Remus.

  "Why are you on the train, anyway?"

  Remus smirked. "Well, there's a certain position at Hogwarts that seems to be cursed," he started before laughing at the happiness that had crossed Harry's face. "Yes, I will be the new DADA teacher this year. Along with being Head of...."

  He was cut off as Harry hugged him. "That's great! I...." Harry broke off with a sheepish look on his face. "Sorry about that," he said as he pulled away from the older man.

  Remus chuckled. "I take it you like the idea?"

  Harry nodded. "Are you kidding?" He looked at Remus for a couple of seconds. "So, did you let Ron and Hermione know?"

  The older man shook his head. "No. I wanted you to be the first to know."

  "Can I keep it a secret, then, until the Sorting?" Harry asked.

  Remus nodded. "If you can." He smirked again as Harry playfully swatted at him. Then he starting laughing at the mock-hurt face Harry put on, who soon joined him. Soon, though, the two entered the train and found their way back to Harry's original compartment for the rest of the journey.

******

  "Why didn't you tell me?" Ron demanded to know as he put his feet up on the table in front of the couch. He, Hermione, and Harry were in the common room shared by the Head Boy and Girl. "I knew something was going on when you two came back from where ever on the train, but this!"

  Harry grinned. "It was too good. Besides, you should have seen the looks on your faces when Remus was announced. It was too good to pass up!"

  Hermione frowned. "You would think that as Head Boy you wouldn't do anything like this."

  Ron and Harry gave her a look.

  "I'll have you know that my dad did *several* things you shouldn't do as Head Boy," Harry stated. "And I know for a fact that you probably would have done the same thing."

  Hermione tried to give them a scathing look but ended up giggling. "Very well. You know me too well. As Head Girl...."

  "Yes," Harry said as he rose. "By the way, if you're going to stay the night here, Ron, be sure to put up a silencing spell?"

  Ron's face matched his hair, and Hermione turned a lovely shade of pink at the question. Harry laughed at their reactions before he headed off to his room. Closing the door, he could still hear Ron spluttering in the common room.

  An hour later found Harry in bed, looking up at the ceiling. It was strange to be back, but also good. He was back at the place he had considered home for the past six years and it would be his last. Next summer he would join Sirius at his house until he figured out what to do. There were a lot of options he could take, considering that the Ministry offered him anything in return for getting rid of Voldemort.

  One of the best things, though, about being back in Hogwarts was that Remus would be teaching again. He still thought of his third year fondly, often wishing that Remus was still teaching. Now that wish had come true, and he couldn't be happier. Only Sirius could produce a more joyful reaction, being his godfather, since Remus was one of the two people who had known his dad better than anyone that was still around.

  Today Harry had noticed how Remus had looked. The older man was healthier than he had been when he had last seen him the night of the last battle, in fact much better than he had been the last couple of years. Remus' golden eyes had seemed to sparkle in much the same way Sirius or Dumbledore's eyes did when they were happy.

  He looked good that way.

  Harry stopped himself. He did not just think that of Remus. No, he couldn't have.

  He was still arguing with himself when he fell asleep.

******

  Remus woke up just before his alarm went off. His body somehow always knew what time it, and he figured that it was a side effect of his lycanthropy. It was sometimes a blessing, but when it came to him trying to sleep-in, it was definitely a curse.

  Padding into the bathroom, he paused to take a brief look in the mirror. It was strange to see himself in the morning now that his sleep wasn't disrupted by the alertness he had needed during the war. Sirius had laughed at him when he had mentioned it, saying that he was turning into an old man. Before he knew it, Remus had laughed at him while reminding the other man that he was six months older than he was. That had shut up Sirius, for a couple of minutes at least.

  He shook his head at that little bit of silliness and started getting ready for the day. He had been waiting for it to come eagerly once he had been told he got the job. Up until that point, from the interview, he had been nervous, wondering if the board of governors would be willing to hire him once again in spite of his being a werewolf. However, their votes had been unanimous in his favor and while several parents had complained, none of their children had been pulled out of school.

  Last night Dumbledore had told him that several of the board members were very grateful for all the work he had done in the fight against Voldemort, and felt that his personal experience would prove to be very useful in his teachings. Also added to that was the fact that most knew of the welcome his former students would give him.

  That thought warmed Remus as he made his way to the Great Hall. He loved teaching here, and knowing that his students really liked him made it even better.

  "Good morning, Remus," Dumbledore greeted him as he sat down at the teacher's table.

  "Good morning," he replied, looking around the table. Last night he had been surprised when Snape had actually offered a halfway civil greeting, and he was ready to return the sentiment this morning when he noticed the other man wasn't there.

  Dumbledore must have known his thoughts when he said, "Severus no longer takes breakfast with the school. He finds it painful to move in the morning most of the time."

  Remus nodded, well aware of the price Snape had paid for his spying. He had also found out last night that the other man had moved his classroom to a room on the ground floor, out of the cold dungeons, and that most people were very pleased by this. Remus knew that it was because of his health that he had done so, even if he mourned the loss of familiar surroundings.

  Loud chattering broke his eyes from his plate. Looking up, he found several Gryffindors walking over to their table, with the trio in the lead. Harry and Ron looked to be arguing over something as Hermione ignored the both of them. Harry broke off for a moment to wave at the teacher's table, sending a smile to both Remus and Dumbledore.

  Remus smiled back as Dumbledore leaned over. "He's grown to be a fine young man, hasn't he?"

  Nodding, he looked at the headmaster. "I agree. I think that Lily and James would be proud of him."

  Dumbledore nodded wisely. "And you and Sirius?"

  Remus chuckled. "I don't know about Sirius, since I seem to catch the ranting whenever Harry's gone off and done something dangerous." Both men laughed at this. "Myself, I am happy that he's who he's become. He's definitely someone I'm proud to know."

  The headmaster gave him a sideways look, but returned to his breakfast.

  Remus eyed him for a moment, mystified at the action. Shrugging off the thought, he turned his mind to his lessons for the day.


	2. Chapter 2

******

******

Chapter 2

  Harry settled into school life like he had the last six years. This year, though, was a little different than those past. He was finding it difficult to pay attention in one of his classes more and more as he attended them, and it was because of the teacher.

  Ever since that first night they had been back, he had been trying to tell himself that he did not find Remus Lupin attractive for several reasons. First, he was his teacher. Those three words seemed to revolve around his brain, accompanied by terrible thoughts of what could happen if his feelings were found out - the few Slytherins left in Sixth and Seventh years would have a field day with the information, not to mention his own embarrassment at the situation.

  Second, Remus went to school with his father. This was a little more difficult than the first, but he wasn't troubled by the age difference. It was the fact that he was more than a little scared that the other man would see his father and not Harry. He had been told he looked like his father so many times that it played like a broken record sometimes.

  The third reason wasn't *as* big as the others, but was pretty much as overwhelming and immediate just the same. There was no getting around Remus' status as a werewolf. That fact didn't bother Harry at all, but from everything he had learned over the years he had known Remus, the curse that ruled his life once a month had stopped him from getting involved with anybody. He might have a way around it, since he had become an Animagus late last year - though the Ministry didn't know *that* - and would be able to be around Remus when he changed into a werewolf.

  Added to all this, Harry wasn't sure if he even wanted to pursue a relationship with him - assuming that the feeling was mutual. He *was* seventeen, but it was only physically. Mentally he felt a hundred, even more than that some days. Before, he had never entered a relationship because of the threat of Voldemort. Harry had vowed not to let another innocent like Cedric die just because they were close to him. It had been frightening enough knowing the Sirius and Remus had often been at the forefront of some of the battles between the order and Ministry against the Death Eaters.

  He wasn't sure how he would handle a relationship, although the more he looked at Remus, the more he wanted it.

  He lowered his head to his desk as his head started to hurt. He was supposed to be writing an essay on advanced counter-curses for DADA, and instead he was drooling over the teacher. If this kept up he wouldn't be able to do anything, let alone graduate.

  Looking up at the clock, he found that it was almost time for quidditch practice. Resolving to finish this later, he grabbed his broom and hoped he could clear his mind with flying.

******

  It was the first Halloween ever at Hogwarts in seven years that Harry could remember not having anything happen – well, at least other than the feast. A good thing, yes, in that for once he didn't have some strange adventure or something. This year had been different – and normal – but he wasn't sure he liked it. In fact, it was quite boring.

  At least when he wasn't looking at Remus.

  Ron and Hermione were off in their own little world for most of the night, so they never saw that Harry's attention was directed at the teacher's table far more than it should have been. Only Seamus had noticed, but all he had done was give Harry a wink and turn back to his conversation with Neville on their chances at winning the upcoming Quidditch game against Ravenclaw.

  Harry watched as Remus had an animate discussion with Professor Stellar, all the while wishing he could be up there sitting with him. It would be nice to talk to the older man without once involving something discussed in class. He wanted to know everything about Remus – what books he liked to read, what his favorite food was, what he thought of events that were happening all over the world – even if the other man never let him get too close.

  He could live with that. It'd be painful, but he could.

  For now, though, Harry would content himself with watching, waiting for the chance to *talk* with Remus. Even if it didn't come until the end of the year.

******

  Christmas found Hogwarts wrapped in an insulating blanket of snow. The weather had turned sharp and cold mid-November, bringing with it the first of several snowstorms. Some students had complained about the bitter cold of some of the draftier classrooms, but most had found they could release their stresses in the snowball fights that sprung up every so often. It wasn't like they had to worry about a Dark Lord running around anymore.

  Coming in after an invigorating fight to get ready for the Christmas feast, Harry laughed as Sirius shook snow off his collar much, as he would in his dog form. Next to him, Remus was dumping his boots, giving meaningful looks at Sirius (who ignored them) and Ron (who smiled sheepishly in apology). Hermione dragged along a shivering Colin Creevey, who had been caught in the crossfire between Harry and Sirius. Harry was tempted to apologize himself, but Colin's smile stopped him. The camera-happy sixth year still hadn't gotten over his hero worship of Harry, and him saying he was sorry would only exacerbate the problem.

  Trudging up to Gryffindor's wing and tower, the group started to separate as Ron and Colin were dropped off at the portrait of the fat lady, Hermione stopping as well. Harry figured that she wanted to tell Ron something, but considering that half of his clothes were in her room, he was confused that he wasn't following Hermione to her and Harry's common room.

  Harry found it was easier to be in a group when Remus around, and now that it was down to him, the other man, and Sirius, he was starting to get a little nervous. Muttering that he would meet up with them in a little bit, he hurried up to his room, the next door down from Remus'.

  Harry berated himself as he pulled his sopping sweater off, leaving him shivering and bare-chested in his room. He had been caught several times that afternoon by snowballs that he could have avoided if he hadn't been looking at his teacher. Remus' cheeks had been pink with exertion while his eyes had seemed to glow. Their amber color had caught Harry's attention quite often, leaving him wide open to Sirius' assault.

  He had just changed his pants and was about to put on a dry shirt when there was a knock on the door. Figuring it was Hermione to tell him to get a move on it, he opened it up to find Remus.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

  Remus inwardly gulped before hopefully saying hello.

  _Harry has definitely grown up._

  The younger man turned and waved him in, pulling the shirt in his hands over his head. Remus thought it a shame to cover that body - before stopping himself for thinking such a thought.

  "Did I take too long?" Harry was asking as he pulled his shoes on.

  Remus pulled his mind from the proverbial gutter and shook his head. "No. I just wanted to tell you that Professor Dumbledore has planned something for the dinner tonight, and he wanted you and Hermione to be there a couple of minutes early so he could give you instructions."

  "Oh." Harry stood up. "Are you going down there now? 'Cause I'll walk with you if you are."

  Dumbly nodding his head, Remus stumbled from the room. Cursing himself and thanking Merlin that Harry didn't see it, he and the younger man made their way to the Great Hall behind Hermione. Remus was yelling at himself for doing such a thing, especially considering his reaction to seeing his student half-dressed. What he didn't know was that Harry was pretty much thinking the same thing.

******

  The feast was a loud affair. Several first years had stayed for the holidays, and were still excited from opening presents. Harry smiled as he remembered his first Christmas at Hogwarts. That had been the year he had gotten his father's invisibility cloak from Dumbledore. That cloak had seen many adventures, but was now stored at the bottom of his trunk. Death Eaters on the Hogwarts Express had damaged it in an attack at the beginning of his sixth year, and he hoped that it could be fixed. There were several tears in it and if the cloak swung just right, you could see its wearer.

  This Christmas, though, was the best so far, since Sirius was sitting next to him. Ron was on his other side, and Harry breathed a sigh of relief that Remus was on the other side of Sirius. It would be torture to be this close to him when he was already flustered. Both of them had stuttered slightly before parting in the Great Hall, Harry to talk to Dumbledore and Hermione, and Remus to find Sirius, who was waiting impatiently for dinner. Harry figured that he was embarrassed from catching his student half-clothed, while he was pretty much embarrassed by the same thing.

  The feast eventually wound down as the first years started to wander towards their common rooms, most of the others following them. Finally, only the teachers, Sirius, and the trio remained, leaving them in peace and quiet.

  Harry watched as Snape left, exhausted by the afternoon and evening's events. He would never fully understand the man, but he had never wanted something like this to happen. It pained him to see Slytherin's Head of House like that, especially on a day like this. A wave of sadness rolled over him as he thought of all the people that should have been here for this Christmas, but he tried not to let it show. He didn't want the others to get sad, even though he was pretty sure that at one point or another each of them had thought the same thing today.

  Eventually, Dumbledore stood up and invited them all to the order's old room for a more private celebration. The headmaster's eyes had twinkled fiercely, and Harry was curious to know what was going on. He followed after saying goodnight to Hermione and Ron, who had winked at Harry. Sighing, he shook his head as he walked behind Sirius and Remus.

  "What is it, Harry?" Sirius asked as he looked back at his godson.

  Harry smiled. "Nothing."

  "Sure," Sirius said. "You wouldn't be smiling like that if it was nothing."

  The younger man stopped at the knowing looks of the other men. "Just Ron and Hermione..."

  "Ah!" Remus nodded, understanding - even if he didn't look comfortable at the thought.

  Sirius clasped a hand to his chest in a dramatic fashion. "Young love." He mock-wept at the thought. "To see such happiness amongst the young lovers...."

  Harry laughed at his godfather as he put his other hand to his brow. Sirius spoiled the look with a scowl at his godson.

  Remus shook his as he left the two behind him. "Are you two coming?"

  Sirius and Harry exchanged a look before nodding. "Sure thing!" they chorused, before looking at each other and bursting into laughter.

  Arriving at the order meeting room, the three found Dumbledore in charge of a *large* bowl of punch. Harry guessed that it was of the alcoholic variety and couldn't resist. He figured he was young only once and took to drinking with gusto. An hour later, though, he was starting to regret it as his vision was starting to blur. It was almost as if he were wearing his glasses again and they had slipped off his nose.

  "Padfoot?"

  Harry could dimly hear Remus talking to Sirius, but wasn't really following what they were saying.

  "Harry?"

  He opened his eyes to find a pair of amber orbs looking at him in concern. "Wha?"

  "Time to go to bed, Harry."

  Harry found himself standing upright as the world shifted for a couple of seconds. "I don't like this," he muttered as he was ushered from the room. He missed the admonishing look that passed between Remus and Sirius as he tried to keep his balance.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

  Remus mentally yelled at his friend – as well as himself – as he half-dragged Harry down various corridors towards where their rooms were. He had wanted Sirius to take his godson back to his room, but somehow the black-haired man had managed to get him to do with it.

  It was not looking good at the moment. For Sirius. Or himself.

  All Remus had been able to think about the entire afternoon was his reaction to Harry being half-naked. Several times he had caught himself trying to undress the boy, reprimanding himself that this was James' boy. His old friend definitely wouldn't appreciate these lustful thoughts about his son.

  Other times he would find himself thinking of his promise to never get involved with anyone. He had made that mistake only once, before he found the male form more attractive than the female, and the girl had been terrified of him. He had been dating her for a couple of months, and thought that she was to be trusted and could handle being told about his lycanthropy. He had thought it wise to tell her, especially since he really wanted to kiss her. He didn't get the kiss, not when she had looked at him as if it was the full moon and she was his next meal.

  She hadn't talked to him again. Oh, she never told anybody his secret, and went to her grave never saying a word, but it had been hard. She had been one of Lily's roommates and having class with her every single day for the next two years had been awful.

  Remus knew he wouldn't be able to cope with that sort of rejection again. And yet, he didn't think that Harry would mind....

  _No,_ he promised himself, _I will not think about Harry like that._

  Harry was his student; he was twenty years younger than he was; he was one of his best friends' son. He could keep on listing all of the things that he felt *why* he shouldn't even think of Harry in a romantic sense. But that was the trouble. All afternoon his brain had kept returning to the sight of Harry standing in the doorway to his room, shirt in his hands and the weak winter sunlight hitting the slightly sweaty skin of his chest.

  When had *that* happened? When had Harry gone through all these physical changes that were starting to get Remus hot and bothered? Thinking over the last year, he didn't exactly know. He did know that such changes didn't quite happen overnight, but there were always some things in the wizarding world that offered no explanation.

  Before his final fight with Voldemort, Harry had been as skinny as he always had been. The boy never went through the growth spurt all of his friends had gone through, though Remus suspected it was because of the stress of fighting, and the malnutrition he had suffered at the Dursleys over the summers.

  Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, Remus steered Harry down another hallway, trying to get him to turn right. Instead, the boy kept walking straight a couple more steps and right into Remus, breaking his concentration of where they were going for a brief second. Their slight brush had reminded Remus of Harry's body, and his cheeks began to slightly flush in reaction. It was a good thing that Harry wasn't paying attention at the moment, because he would have had a hard time explaining just what was going on.

  It wasn't the physical changes he had seen earlier in the day that had caught his eye. He now admitted to himself that he had often thought of Harry over the last four months. The boy – Remus really couldn't call him that, since no *boy* would have been able to defeat Voldemort – seemed happier than he had been in his third year. He laughed more, smile more, and definitely seemed more open. During their Patronus sessions all those years ago, Remus had wondered what had made the boy so shy, when both his parents had been loud (James) and openly friendly with practically the whole school (Lily).

  But now... the young man had become what Remus had always dreamt of in partner he had always wished for – the one he dreamed about in spite of his promise. He wasn't sure if he could handle it.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

  Harry watched the hallways pass by in a haze. He knew he was walking, but wasn't sure where exactly he was. He was too focused on the man that was guiding him.

  _Remus smells good_, Harry thought as they turned a corner. He had gotten a good sniff when he had collided with him when he missed the corner, and now all of his thoughts were centered on it.

  "Here we are, Harry."

  He blinked up at Remus but didn't move away from him. Harry watched curiously as the other man sighed before opening the door and guiding him over to his bed. Getting the hint as Remus pushed at him, Harry sat on the bed as he pulled his shoes off.

  "Harry, do you want to take your robe off?"

  Green eyes blinked slowly before focusing on the other man. Nodding, then shaking his head, Harry attempted to stand before Remus could move away. As he did, Harry found himself fully up against Remus, the other man's arms around him as he tried to keep his balance.

  "Harry?"

  Harry's attention was drawn towards his mouth as it spoke his name. It was only a couple of inches from his own, making it look that much more tempting. In the haze of his alcohol-induced mind, he had only one thought - _how soft were his lips?_ Moving to find out, Harry pressed his lips to Remus'.

  _They *are* soft,_ Harry thought. _Sweet tasting, too._ He leaned in for a deeper taste, opening his lips slightly to breathe in Remus' scent again before closing his eyes and letting himself get lost in the kiss.

***************

AN:  Wow! I never expected so many reviews! I almost started to hyperventilate when I read them, which isn't a good thing when everybody else is asleep. Ah, the joys of working a different shift than everyone else....

There are two reasons why this is so late: one, my sister was slow beta reading, and the second was that I wasn't exactly sure if anyone would even read the story. I really like this pairing, but it's hard to find. So.... I picked up the gauntlet that I seemed to have thrown down and wrote a story myself. Besides, if even half the rumors are true about the casting of PoA and who is going to play Remus, I'll be satisfied. ^_^

Quoth the Raven: I figured that since even the magical world can't bring back the dead, there are probably some things that can't be healed with magic. A sliced spinal cord would likely to be one of them. I do have plans for Professor Snape, but not in this story. Maybe I'll write him his own little story....

Godless Harlot: my sister is doing the beta on this, since my roommate refuses to read slash – he doesn't like it. But, she just started a new job with a three-hour-a-day commute, so I'm trying to be patient, even if she's slacking at her job. It's also why this chapter's so late.... *sigh*

Anon.: The rating won't go up. I don't think I could write anything more than a little heavy petting. It's awkward enough writing kissing... *blush* not to mention anything else... ~_^


	3. Chapter 3

******

******

Chapter 3

  Remus stiffened in shock as he felt Harry kissing him. It had been bad enough when he found himself with an armful when he had stood up. Now that lean body was leaning even further into his as Harry moved his mouth slightly.

  _It was his first kiss,_ he realized as it continued. _And it felt good._

  He had never known that it could feel this good.

  And that was before Harry's tongue brushed across his lips.

  Opening his mouth to speak, he found himself starting to participate in the kiss. A slick, wet tongue brushed once more over his lips before sliding in to dance with his.

  Remus felt like he was drowning as he kissed Harry back. It was the best feeling in the world, especially when Harry moved his hands to his back. They moved in a sensuous pattern before one slid up to entwine itself in Remus' hair. That was when Remus realized he could move his hands, too.

  Firm muscles played under his hands as he brushed them across Harry's arms. He raised them to his neck, feeling the soft hair that rested above the robe's collar. Remus slowly threaded one hand into the hair there as he and Harry continued the kiss.

  "Remus...."

  Harry's groan snapped his thoughts back to what they were doing.

  Merlin! Harry was his student.... He couldn't be doing this.

  Pulling away abruptly, Remus backed towards the door, watching almost absently as Harry lurched when his support disappeared.

  "Harry, we can't do this!"

  Harry blinked and headed to where Remus was standing. "Yes, we can. We just did!"

  Remus shook his head. "No. No we can't!" Scrambling for the door, he wrenched it open and hurried to his room. Finding that Sirius wasn't back yet, he rested his head against the door, trying to figure out what had gone on.

******

  Sirius kicked back and watched the rest of the teachers as they talked to one another. It had been hilarious to see Harry inebriated, but Remus hadn't seen the humor in the situation. He had become rather ticked at his friend for letting his godson get drunk off his arse instead. Since he had felt that way, Sirius had insisted Remus take Harry back to his room. That would accomplish two things: Harry wouldn't get into any more trouble that night, and maybe the two wouldn't act as strange as they had since they'd all come in after the snowball fight.

  He looked up as Dumbledore came and sat beside him, glass in hand. Sirius waited for the older wizard to talk, but all the headmaster did was take a couple of sips of his punch.

  "Yes, Professor?" Sirius asked as he looked at Dumbledore in curiosity.

  The headmaster shook his head. "You can call me Albus, Sirius. I think by now you've earned that."

  Sirius gave a half-smirk, but didn't say anything. He knew that Dumbledore had more to say.

  "Do you think that Remus will continue teaching?"

  The younger man eyed the headmaster. "Why? Do you know of anything that would keep him from teaching next year?"

  Dumbledore shook his head. "That wasn't what I was asking," he admonished.

  Sirius blushed, an action he hadn't believed he could still do. He knew what Dumbledore was talking about, but that didn't mean he wanted to. "Yes. He loves it here, especially since the kids really seem to love him."

  The headmaster nodded. "Yes. It's good to see the students react to a teacher like that."

  "Why did you ask me that in the first place?" Sirius asked.

  Dumbledore just gave him a steady look in reply, his eyes twinkling in the dim light of the room as the candles burned themselves down.

  Sirius eyed him briefly before nodding. "One of your mysterious, 'only I know what's going on' sort of thing?"

  The old wizard laughed at the expression. "If you put it like that, yes. I have plans for when I leave at the end of the year, and I expect that most people will find it shocking."

  A frown appeared between Sirius' brows. "What does that have to do with Remus?"

  "Nothing, at least at the moment." He raised a hand at the question in Sirius' eyes. "I decided that this year would be my last. With the threat of Voldemort gone, I now have plenty of time to scope out who I would like to see as Headmaster of Hogwarts."

  "Snape?" Sirius didn't like that idea, but he knew that his old classmate probably would love to have the job.

  Dumbledore shook his head. "No. Severus is also retiring at the end of the year."

  The statement shocked Sirius for a moment before he remembered the look of tight pain in the other man's eyes earlier this afternoon. It made sense now. Snape had mentally recovered, but the stress of teaching was causing him physical pain. Sirius was still thinking about Snape when he realized Dumbledore was speaking again.

  "What do you think Harry is planning to do after he graduates?"

  The black-haired man grinned. "I think he really doesn't know what he wants to do. He was talking last summer on how he just wanted to take a couple of months to figure out what he wanted to do with his life. Up until now he really hasn't had the chance to sit down and think about it."

  Dumbledore nodded. "Yes. Voldemort tended to be first in everybody's mind for the last couple of years."

  Sirius snorted, and tried to cover it up with a cough. From the knowing look in the headmaster's eyes, he wasn't successful. "Harry's thoughts probably centered around how long he was going to live, and trying to evade Voldemort, so, yeah, I can see why he wanted to take time off."

  "What about the Ministry?" the headmaster asked.

  "No," Sirius answered. "I know that Harry doesn't want to do anything within the Ministry. He knows that he would get frustrated with all the disorganization within that joint. Besides, the best job he's qualified for is an Auror, and he had enough of chasing down Death Eaters during the war to not want it.

  "Do you think he'd like teaching?"

  Now the animagus knew what Dumbledore had been getting around to. "Why?"

  "Professor Stellar signed on only to teach Transfiguration until a permanent replacement for Professor McGonagall was found. Judging by Harry's scores, he is very qualified for such a position. At this point he is first in points and well ahead of even Miss Granger."

  Sirius nodded. "James did very well in it as well."

  The two men were quiet for a moment before Dumbledore slowly rose from the couch where they had been sitting. "I think it's time to call it a night."

  The younger man agreed. "Now I just have to remember where I put my hangover remedy. I have the feeling Harry will need it come morning."

  That set both men to laughing as they parted ways for the night.

******

  Remus looked at the clock. Two minutes had passed since the last time he had looked at it.

  Not a good sign. Not when he hadn't managed a wink of sleep, and certainly not when every time he closed his eyes he saw Harry watching him, his green eyes filled with things that made him want to shiver with need as they had been the night before. They had been needy and hungry and all manner of things Remus had never had directed at him before.

  Figuring that he may as well get up, he went through his morning routine and stumbled out into the main room. He found Sirius sprawled on the couch, blissfully unaware that his best friend had been kissing his godson the night before. When the other man had finally crawled through the door, Remus had only managed a garbled 'good night' before hiding in his bedroom.

  Now he had to figure out what he would say to his friend about what happened last night.

  A knock on the door pre-empted what he was going to say. Striding towards it, Remus opened the door to find Hermione standing on the other side. Internally breathing a sigh of relief, he looked at her.

  "Is something the matter, Hermione?" he asked.

  She nodded. "You wouldn't happen to have a hangover cure, would you?"

  Remus felt like he had been punched in the stomach. He knew it had to be for Harry, since neither she nor Ron had been at the teacher's party.

  "I do," a voice behind him muttered.

  Remus turned to find Sirius stretching by the couch before going over to the small case he had brought. Sirius made his way over to where Remus and Hermione was standing, holding a small vial in one hand.

  "Let's go help the party child," he said as he pulled on Remus' sleeve.

  He wanted to pull back, but knew that Sirius would sense something was wrong. Remus didn't think it was the right time to discuss it, but hoped desperately that Harry wouldn't blurt it out, either. Feeling like he was meeting his doom, Remus slowly crossed the Head Prefects' common room to Harry's bedroom.

  Entering, he found Harry sitting, slumped across a couple of pillows with his head in his hands. The shirt he had worn last night was wrinkled, along with his robe as it hung half off his shoulders.

  Sirius laughed, making the younger man cringe at the loud sound. Taking pity on his godson, though, the black-haired man crossed the room and handed Harry the vial.

  "This'd better work," Harry growled before taking a swig.

  Remus watched the smoke pour from Harry's ears, remembering the last time he had needed that. It had been before the Fidelus Charm, before James and....

  Fuck! What would James think about Remus kissing his son?

  "Thanks, Sirius," Harry was saying as Remus came back to reality. "What happened last night? How'd I get back here?"

  Remus' eyes widened. He didn't remember anything?

  It was a good thing he had kept his mouth shut. Now, no one would have to know he had kissed Harry but Remus himself. This was probably for the best.

******

  Harry looked up at Remus as he paced the floor behind his desk in his chambers, waiting for the younger Gryffindor prefects to arrive for the weekly meeting. He sensed something was wrong with the older man, and wondered what had happened at Christmas. Since then, Remus had been cooler towards him, and Harry was puzzled. Had he said something when he was drunk?

  He had gone over what he could have said a thousand times, and figured that Remus was embarrassed by whatever Harry had said. He must have said a come-on or a pick-up line, and, judging by the reaction that the other man was giving, wasn't interested.

  A poke in his side from Hermione brought his attention to the meeting, reminding him that he'd better stop thinking about it. At least for the moment. For now he would have to sit through the meeting dealing with Valentine's Day, and the dance Dumbledore had wanted to throw. The topic alone was enough to make him scream, since he couldn't show interest in who he really wanted to take (Remus) and didn't want to offend anyone who wanted to go with him (Lavender, Colin, and about thirty other fans of varying sexes).

  He didn't want to particularly sit at a table, watching Ron and Hermione bicker, or Neville and Hannah make those awful cooing sounds that they gave one another. And, being Head Boy, he couldn't not attend. So, he was stuck. Just what he needed. It figured.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

  Remus gave a sigh of relief as the last of the students left his study. It had been a month since Christmas and it was getting hard to keep everything to himself. Each night he relived that kiss; half of him wishing that Harry remembered it while the other half fervently hoped that he wouldn't.

  Still, he could see that the way he was acting was hurting Harry, and that was something he had vowed would never happen. Resigning himself to try and forget that wonderful feeling, he sat down at his desk to figure out the coming week's lesson plans.

******

  May found the Gryffindor seventh and fifth years studying their hearts out. The pressure each felt from the NEWTs or OWLs was almost palpable when one stepped into the common room.

  It was worse coming from the Head Prefect's common room.

  Hermione had spread books over the entire room, and had even banned Ron from stepping foot into either of the rooms she frequented just so she could study.

  Harry tried to avoid her at all costs.

  Instead, he had taken a much less intense, but no less serious, approach to the NEWTs. That mainly meant as far away from everyone else as he could get - which meant outside.

  It was in a little shade garden close to the edge of Hogwarts' boundaries that he was most often found, whether it was sunny or cloudy. Harry found it peaceful enough to think about what lay ahead of him, after he left Hogwarts. He didn't really want to leave the school, and would gladly teach. Hell, he wouldn't mind teaching potions if it meant he could stay at the school. It was his first home.

  That didn't mean he would hate living with Sirius for the summer. His heart jumped just thinking about it, since he had been waiting for that moment since that day at the end of his third year – before Wormtail escaped, before everything that had happened since.

  A flap of wings alerted him to Hedwig's arrival. He had sent her off to the Weasleys, sending them flowers for Ginny. She may not even know that it was her birthday, but he wasn't about to forget it. He knew that Molly would need a pick-me-up on such a day, so he had slipped into the forest on the other side of the garden and found some wild roses.

  "Hey, girl." He rubbed her chest affectionately as she nibbled on his ear. Gently taking the letter tied to her leg, he opened up the thank you note that Arthur had sent. The doctors hadn't let them take the flowers in to Ginny, so Molly kept them in the kitchen at the seat that Ginny usually occupied. He laughed when he read the postscript that Molly had added, saying that Ron had been a forgetful boy like he always was, and that Harry should go yell at him.

  His day brightened a little more than it had been when he woke up, Harry picked up his Transfiguration book to study once more.

******

  The garden was where Sirius found him the Saturday afternoon after the Quidditch Cup game had been played. Harry had slipped off from the victory party (Gryffindor had beat Ravenclaw with a score of 230 - 50) and gone to the garden again to study a little more.

  A shadow crossed his book, alerting Harry to another's presence. Finding it was his godfather, he gave a big smile and closed the book after marking his spot. "Sirius! I didn't know you were going to stay after the game. I would have come got you," Harry said as he made room for Sirius on the blanket.

  The older man shrugged as he sat down beside Harry. "I didn't know I was staying later, either."

  Harry looked at him and found worry lines around his eyes. "What's wrong?"

  Sirius shook his head. "I don't know." He sighed. "Have you noticed anything wrong with Moony?"

  Harry thought about it. Over the last couple of months Remus had become his warm self again, but the last week he had been increasingly tired. "Hm. Well, I think he needs more sleep," he finally said.

  Sirius nodded. "Yes, but it's hard for him to find it right now. Full moon's tonight." He turned towards Harry. "I think he needs some company tonight. Want to join?"

  Harry's face lit up. He had always wanted to know what had gone on those nights when his father and friends had roamed the Forbidden Forest all those years ago. Besides, he really wanted to be close to Remus, even if he was in his wolf form. There was a feeling he got when he was near the man, and Harry had become addicted to it over the last year, and more especially since they had started to act normal again.

  Ever since Remus had warmed up to him again, he had been helping Harry study when he could. Several times they had talked deep into the night about various topics, often drifting from the subjects on the NEWTs to other things. Harry found those nights very enjoyable, appreciating the other man's mind. It was swiftly becoming the second best thing about Remus that he liked.

  The first, though, were his eyes. They reflected a lot of what he was thinking. There would be times when they clouded over, though, and Harry itched to find out what they hid, what was going on behind them.

  Now would be a chance to see those eyes in another form, from a different point of view.

  "Sounds good," he answered Sirius' invitation, giving the older man a grin.

******

  Moony paced back and forth in the Shrieking Shack, waiting for Sirius and Harry to arrive. He was starting to think that this wasn't such a good idea after all. Sirius had caught him at a bad moment, and as irritated as he was by his condition, he had snapped out a 'yes' when he had meant 'not a chance in the world.'

  Now he was stuck. Still, at least he was in his wolf form, and couldn't talk. They would just have to think that Snape had added just a touch too much Wolfsbane to his potion.

  Soon a scratching could be heard, soon followed by the click of nails on the hard floor. Padfoot made his way over to where Moony sat, nudging him in the side to get him moving. Heaving a sigh, the wolf followed the large dog towards the end of the tunnel underneath the Whomping Willow.

  On the other side they were met with the big cat that was Harry. Remus was startled, as he usually was, when he saw the black jaguar named Smoke sitting up and watching the two canines. Harry's green eyes glittered brightly in this form, enhanced by the bright moonlight that brought with it Remus' curse. A black tail flickered at the end, where it lay wrapped around his front legs.

  Padfoot, of course, missed the feline beauty that sat before him and tugged on Moony's ears. Growling, Moony launched himself at the dog. Soon they were joined by Smoke, and together the three tumbled towards the forest for a wild night.

************

AN: Did I do good on the kissing? 

AN2: Another question: Who should be the new potions professor? It can be anybody but Malfoy – I have other plans for him, even if he hasn't been mentioned yet.

AN3: (last one I promise) I apologize for this being later than I thought it would. There was a series of heavy thunderstorms that rolled through my part of the country, knocking out power a couple of times. Of course, I just happened to be working at the computer – either at home or at work. The bad part about the latter was that I work in a windowless room, and the emergency generator doesn't kick on for about ten seconds. Not conducive for my health at the end of a ten-hour shift.

Thanks to everybody that has reviewed so far. It really makes my day to know that I'm helping fill a void (especially since I have an ulterior motive doing it).

Sou: evil? Ooooo, thanks for the compliment! *mutters* chibi-ass kicking.... I'd like to see that.

Laura Beth: As you can see, Remus isn't quite sure how to handle the situation. I get the feeling that even his being such great friends with James, Sirius and Peter didn't totally erase the separation he feels from the rest of the world. He keeps a lid on his emotions, and tries not to open it in the event he will get hurt.

Sirius, on the other hand, I have plans for him. His reaction is in the next chapter, which will be out in a couple of days, owing to power outages and general depression from the sun refusing to shine (which makes it hard to write a fluffy-style romance).


	4. Chapter 4

******

******

Chapter 4

  Remus woke up, confused by the warmth pressed into his side. Last night had been enjoyable, and for the first time in a week he had let himself not think at all. However, the freedom he had found last night was fading fast as he remembered his responsibilities as Remus J Lupin, Head of Gryffindor House and DADA teacher.

  A shift behind him reminded him off the warmth again. It didn't feel like fur against his naked body, but like clothes.

  _It must be Sirius, trying to keep me warm after I changed._

  Opening an eye, he blearily looked around the room and saw his robe. Carefully moving out of bed, he threw it on and turned towards the bed. And stopped breathing.

  It wasn't Sirius who had been sharing the bed.

  Rather, it was Harry.

  The one person he had been trying to not think about for the last week, ever since he realized what he was feeling; it seemed like forever.

  He was still looking at the bed when Harry opened his eyes, the green orbs almost blindingly bright and happy. Remus felt the world tilt once before straightening as he watched the young man stretch as he sat up.

  "Okay, Remus?"

  _Harry's voice should not sound so good in the morning,_ was all Remus could think when he heard the throaty sounds coming from the younger man.

  "Remus?"

  He looked at Harry and found him watching Remus with a concerned look on his face. Shaking his head, he walked back to the bed and sat down next to Harry.

  "I'm fine."

  Harry's didn't look as if he really believed him, but nodded.

  "Where's Sirius?" Remus thought to ask after a minute.

  "He was hungry, so he went to breakfast," Harry answered. "Did you want to go meet him?"

  Remus shook his head again. "No. I can make it until lunch."

  "You sure?" Harry asked. "I'm sure that Dobby would be happy to get us some food..."

  "No. But thank you, Harry," Remus said. He shivered slightly and wrapped his robe tighter around his body.

  "Shit," Harry muttered. "You're cold!" He stood up and started unbuttoning his own robe.

  Remus' eyes widened. No, he couldn't let Harry do this.

  "Harry, I'm fine," he tried not to plead.

  Harry looked at him. "No, you aren't." The buttons undone, he shucked the robe off and handed it to Remus, who was staring at him.

  At least this time Harry was wearing a shirt, but it wasn't much of one. The white wife-beater clung to Harry's body and Remus couldn't tear his eyes away from it. It was too much like his fantasies since Christmas. Since the kiss. Since he had woken up a week ago and known what he wanted.

  Harry didn't seem to notice where Remus' eyes had wandered, instead wrapping his robe around the other man's shoulders.

  "Here," he said, leaning *very* close to Remus.

  He could smell the faint scent of sweat on him, along with a smell that was Harry himself, the same smell that had come from him last night when they were deep in the Forbidden Forest. It was a good smell, one that he could get used to. But he wouldn't.

  "Remus?"

  He lifted his eyes to Harry's, only to find them an inch away.

  "Remus...?" he asked again. "Can I kiss you?"

  In shock, he nodded once.

  He didn't say anything as Harry pressed the lips he had dreamed about to his once more.

  It was better than the first kiss. This time he met the lips that joined his. He was the one who first brushed a hesitant tongue against Harry's lips, wanting in, wanting to taste Harry.

  He wanted to feel Harry. Beneath his lips. Everywhere.

  Harry tasted good, so good Remus wanted to taste everywhere.

  He slid his mouth away from the succulent dish that was Harry's mouth and moved on to the next delicacy. Remus knew he'd found a good spot as Harry whimpered slightly into his ear had he nibbled on Harry's own. Moving down, he found that the sweaty skin of his skin was just as delicious, and he couldn't resist giving a small nip before moving back to his mouth.

  He wouldn't mind spending the rest of his life just kissing Harry.

  Remus worried at Harry's lower lips, nibbling it delicately. There was something primal about this kiss, making him want it to go on forever. However, his lungs demanded that they needed air and he lifted his lips from Harry's red ones. The tender flesh of his mouth was slightly bruised, while his eyes gave off a happy luminescence.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

  Harry pulled away, dazed by what he was feeling. That kiss had been almost like the dream one he'd had on Christmas....

  _Christmas!_

  That was why Remus had been acting so strangely. Had he been feeling guilty about kissing Harry? Or was it the fact that Harry didn't remember kissing him?

  At that point Harry felt a sharp throb where his shoulder and neck met. Raising a finger, he brushed it lightly and winced at the pain. He heard a gasp and looked at Remus, who was watching him with a horrified look.

  "Remus?"

  The amber eyes were the wildest Harry had ever seen.

  "I marked you," the other man exhaled.

  Harry grew apprehensive. "Marked?" he whispered.

  Remus' cheeks grew pink. "Not marked, as in a were-" he choked out.

  Harry gave an internal sigh of relief. He wasn't as brave as Remus to try to live with being curse with lycanthropy. He loved Remus dearly for it, but he... couldn't.... He wasn't brave enough, even after defeating Voldemort.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

  Remus cursed himself for letting himself get carried away. He couldn't bring himself to raise his eyes from the bite mark that glowed on Harry's body.

  "I've marked you as my mate," he finally whispered into the silence.

  Remus didn't want to see the horrified reaction Harry would give. He didn't want to-

  "Remus?"

  Harry's voice didn't sound angry. In fact, it sounded... hopeful? Lifting his eyes to meet Harry's he found the man's green eyes dancing with happiness.

  "You've marked me? Does this have something to do with Christmas?"

  "Oh shit," Remus swore under his breath. "You remember?"

  Harry blushed, and Remus almost didn't catch his words since he was distracted by the rosy pink on the other man's cheeks. "I thought it was a dream."

  "Oh," was all Remus could think of to say to this.

  "Is this okay with you?" Harry asked. He sounded unsure of himself, much different from the man he had grown up to be. "Cause if it isn't..."

  Remus' eyes shot to Harry's. "Yes!" he almost shouted. "It's very okay with me. I was afraid that you..."

  "I wouldn't want this, too?" Harry shook his head. "I've been falling in love with you all year."

  His breath caught in his throat. He'd never thought he would hear *anybody* ever saying that to him, and now... 

  "I - I love you, Harry," Remus stuttered. He did love Harry, though he'd been trying to deny it for the past week. Remus couldn't believe his luck. His condition... "What about my curse?"

  Harry laughed. "Would I have joined you and Padfoot last night if I was uncomfortable with it?"

  Remus laughed as well. That set that problem to rest, at least for a little while.

  "I still have to be your teacher for the next month, Harry," he reminded the younger man.

  Harry eyed him. "It won't be that much different from what I'm used to doing in class, Remus. I'm surprised that you never caught me daydreaming in your class before this."

  He laughed. _All this time,_ Remus thought, _we've been thinking about each other._ As he thought about it, he realized that it wouldn't be a whole lot different. It was just that they knew the other was sharing their feeling.

  Harry joined in, the chuckles issuing from his mouth drawing Remus' attention back to that part of the younger man's face. He leaned in for another kiss – just one more before they would have to leave this wonderful place. "Let's leave the rest for later," he suggested as he brushed his lips against Harry's.

  Harry answered with a groan.

******

  Sirius made his way towards the Shrieking Shack. Moony must have changed back by now, and Harry still hadn't come back to get him. As he got closer, he could hear a soft rustle and figured that Remus finally had woken up and Harry was helping getting him dressed.

  What he saw wasn't even close to that.

  To say he was surprised to see his godson and his best friend kissing like a house on fire was on target. He'd thought they would have waited until school ended. After all, it hadn't seemed as if either one of them really knew what they were doing; and he had figured that it would take them at least another month to do something. Although, judging by that kiss.... Sirius felt a flash of jealousy before he tamped it down as he looked at the two now standing on opposite sides of the room.

  It wasn't as if he hadn't seen the signs, but now... he felt like the figurative third wheel when just last night the three of them had been *together.* Just like he had always hoped it would be.

  "Sirius!"

  He laughed when he saw the two look horrified at being caught, tamping down the small part of him that was suddenly uncomfortable in their presence. Sirius decided right then and there that he would give his full support, even though he felt so lost now.

  Then his eyes caught the bite mark on Harry's neck and knew there was no turning back for them. Once a werewolf has marked its mate, they will stay together for life. And judging by the way they were kissing when he first saw them, they were both happy with the situation. Knowing that sometimes one can't change the inevitable, he lifted an eyebrow in question, trying to play the role James had bestowed on him.

  "Sirius, I was just...."

  Sirius raised an eyebrow as he looked at the panicked Remus as he spluttered. He debated quickly on whether or not to tease his friend about it, but decided that, since the full moon had just passed, he would take it easy on him. "Relax, Moony. It's okay..."

  Remus and Harry gave him tentative smiles. They looked a little less terrified at his reaction, but Sirius knew he needed to show his approval. He had watched the two interact whenever he could over the year, and had laughed to himself over how funny the whole situation was. Neither of them had had a clue as to what was going on with the other. It had also been sweet. Both of them needed someone to love them for who they really were, and not what other people had labeled them.

  When he told them this, he was greeted by indignation on Remus' behalf and a blush on Harry's cheeks. The only thing he didn't tell them was his reservations on such a match. He would never say those things. Ever. He knew that Remus and Harry would be hurt by it, and he had promised himself a long time ago that he would never intentionally hurt someone he cared about ever again.

  Still, Sirius couldn't resist one little jab.

  "So, when's the ceremony?"

******

  Harry plunked himself down on Remus' couch later that same night. The two of them had been fending off Sirius' efforts at discomposing them over their new relationship, which he had succeeded at for the most part. However, they had also been quick to tell the other man that there were some things they hadn't gotten around to discussing, and would he kindly leave them alone so they could do so.

  Sirius didn't take the hint. Instead, he had proceeded to tease them a little more before Harry just shoved him out the door, making sure the portrait wouldn't open for him again the rest of the night. Even so, Harry and Remus heard his shout of, "Don't do anything I wouldn't do!"

  Now all Harry wanted to do was relax, and get to know Remus a *lot* better than he already did. Intriguing premise. He'd have to work on that after they talked a little. He'd much rather get to the more interesting part.

  "So..." Harry started, not really sure how they should start this off.

  "So..." Remus echoed.

  The two men looked at each other before laughing nervously.

  "Wow," Harry finally said. "We have extensive vocabularies."

  Remus snickered. "Intelligent, too."

  "Hm." Harry tossed a quick look at the man next to him before deciding he shouldn't look at him while talking. "What did you want to talk about? I mean... I have no clue as to what we should do. Or anything...."

  A snort cut him off. "As if I have any idea of what we should do," Remus softly said. He turned to face Harry, one leg bending and sliding underneath him as he twisted. "I do know that I want to really make this work."

  Green eyes softened. It had suddenly hit him that Remus had felt as unloved all his life as he did. It was one thing to have a friend's love, like he did with Ron and Hermione, but this... it was no-man's land. He had the feeling they would have to feel their way through it blindly. He didn't mind if it meant he'd be with Remus.

  "Do you mind me being so young?" he asked, his voice wavering in his apprehension.

  "What about me being so much older than you?" Remus countered. "I went to school with your father. I changed your diapers a couple of times."

  Harry blushed. "I think I've changed quite a bit since then. And it doesn't bother me." He shrugged slightly. "It doesn't matter what your age is." He wasn't sure how to put it, so he gave a half-smile.

  Remus eyed him for a moment. "You sure?"

  Nodding, Harry inched closer to Remus, leaving a small space between them. "I mean, it's not that I really feel that there is an age difference. There are some days when I feel older than Dumbledore, and more often than not my classmates are so *young* compared to me. They didn't have to see what I did out there, but you.... You understand what was really happening, were a part of it just like I was."

  He couldn't say anymore as he remembered seeing the crumpled body of Dean Thomas, who had been caught in Diagon Alley the summer before their sixth year. As a muggle born, he had been targeted by Death Eaters in the midst of back-to-school shopping. His roommate's death had happened right in front of him, before he had even understood what was going on. None of the other Gryffindors had taken his death as hard as Harry had, even Seamus, who had been his best friend – they hadn't been there. But he knew that Remus understood.

  An arm crept around his shoulders, bringing him into Remus' embrace. Harry buried his face in the crook of his neck, breathing in the calm aura that surrounded the older man.

  "Harry..." Remus drifted off for a moment, and Harry could tell he was searching for the right words to say. "I... I understand what you mean, but there is more to that."

  He lifted his head to look straight in Remus' eyes. "I know. But, I felt that way back when you were teaching the first time. Not love like I feel now," he said when the older man shot him a startled look, "but the fact that you understood me. You always have, and not just as some carbon copy of my father. And you've never treated me like a child, even when I had a child's fears." Harry shifted closer, and laid his head back in the crook of Remus' neck. "Both of us was shaped by one big event, and that makes it easier, and now we have another one."

  Remus lifted a hand and caressed the healing bite mark on Harry's neck. "I know," he whispered.

  Harry closed his eyes, content to stay in the other man's arms. The feel the mark gave off was warm, and made him feel good and happy and any number of things he had already associated with Remus. Now, it was just that he knew his feelings were returned that made it that much better.

  "Remus?"

  The other man shifted slightly, but never took his hand away. "Hm?"

  "I love you," Harry whispered.

  "And I love you, as well, Harry."

******

  Harry rubbed his palms on his robe as the stairs lifted him up to Dumbledore's office. He wasn't sure why the headmaster had called him up here, since they had just talked the previous night during a follow up meeting on the latest capture of Death Eaters by the Ministry. A slight part of him was worried that somebody had seen him leave Remus' room late the last couple of nights, but it wasn't as if they had really been doing anything other than talking. Still, rumors tended to grow when it involved Harry, so both of them were staying to the side of caution.

  "Professor?" he asked as he knocked on the door.

  It opened to reveal Dumbledore smiling widely, the twinkle in his eyes dancing merrily at the sight of Harry. "Come in, come in!" He made his way back to the chair behind his desk and pointed at a comfortable chair for the young man to sit in.

  "Tea?"

  Harry was a little confused, since he'd never been invited for *tea* before, but nodded anyway. "Yes, please. With a lemon slice."

  Dumbledore smiled at him as he poured out of the delicate little teapot that sat at his elbow. Pouring himself a glass, he waited until Harry had taken a sip.

  "I called you up here because I have several things to discuss with you regarding your education here at Hogwarts."

  Harry nodded, still not knowing where he was going.

  "Professor Stellar, as you know, consented to be the Transfiguration instructor after Minerva was lost in the Christmas battle at Hogsmeade," he said.

  Harry noticed his eyes weren't twinkling, a sight he had often seen during the war and it was going badly. It was gone quickly, however, as the headmaster went on speaking.

  "What the two of us did not say when he took the job was that it would *not* be permanent. Professor Stellar is a researcher, and often finds teaching to be... somewhat of a nuisance."

  The young man nodded when it seemed like Dumbledore had stopped.

  "Now, Professor Stellar has had some very good things to say about your scores this year, and even last year when we were still fighting Voldemort. Minerva's records also show that you have always had good marks, being able to learn in one or two tries, rather than the three or four needed by your classmates, once you were willing to give it your best shot."

  Harry blushed as he thought about his first through fourth years. He really hadn't been trying, so more often than not he hadn't done such a thing, but when he put his mind to it – namely after the Third Task of the tournament – he had done better than even Hermione in Transfiguration.

  "What does this have to do with me, sir?" he asked.

  "I was hoping that you would be willing to take over the class, Harry."

  Dumbledore's plainly worded statement sent a shockwave through Harry. He certainly hadn't been expecting this when he had headed to the headmaster's office. He looked up at the old wizard to make sure that it wasn't a joke, even though he knew that Dumbledore wouldn't do such a thing about a subject like this.

  "But..." Harry stopped a moment to catch his breath. "I've never taught anybody before..."

  "Harry." The command in Dumbledore's voice caught his attention. "You have."

  Harry gave him a confused look.

  "Haven't you been teaching the Gryffindor Quidditch team new plays the last three years? Haven't you been giving instructions to the younger prefects all year long? I definitely know that you helped to teach several things to the younger members of the order spells when they were needed."

  Harry nodded in confusion. He hadn't really thought of all that as teaching, but this.... It was a little too much to think of at once. "Sir?"

  Dumbledore nodded for him to continue.

  "May I think about this?"

  The headmaster smiled. "Of course, Harry. I will need to know by the end of the week, at which time the board of governors will want to interview you – strictly for the students' sakes," Dumbledore raised a hand when Harry went to object. "They know of the work that you did during the war. All they want to know is if you will be the correct person for the job. They want a demonstration of the spells you do know."

  Harry gave him a look that was torn between bemusement and terror at performing in front of the board.

  "I would suggest that if you are going to take the job, that you register at the Animagus Office before you meet the board."

  A blush rose on the young man's cheeks as he stood. "Thank you, sir," he said, not knowing what he really should say at this point.

  "You're very welcome, Harry. By the way, ask Remus what he thinks of it when you make your decision."

  Harry's blush deepened when he saw that Dumbledore's eyes were twinkling happily, even as his stomach plunged to his feet. He absentmindedly noticed that the headmaster guided him out of his office and down the stairs, but didn't pay attention to where he was going until he ended up in front of the door to Remus' teaching office. Now what was he going to do?

**********

AN: Whew! This is later than I thought it would be, but I was given mandatory overtime, and though the pay is great, I really didn't like working four fourteen hour days (I work ten hour days, four days a week normally). And on top of that, my dog was sick, and taking care of a 150-lb. Great Dane is not my idea of a good time, so the writing had to wait. Well, Mutt is better (I didn't name him) and I have three days to work on the next chapter!

So, who will be the new Potions Master? So far, Ron, Hermione, and Sirius have been suggested. Who else? Or should it be one of these three? Just not Draco. There are plans for him in a couple of chapters.

Thanks to everybody that's reviewed! My sister gave me a glare worth of Professor Snape when I was "hootin' and hollerin'" (her words, not mine) at 6 in the morning when I saw all the reviews.

GodlessHarlot: Thanks! I like Drunk!Harry too. My friends and I were trading stories from when we were in college, and one of them was the inspiration for that. Incidentally, that friend is the brother of my roommate. Evan, the friend, wouldn't mind, but my roommate is a zealous Catholic, so his belief in all things slashy will probably remain unchanged.

Optional: my sister tells me I'm wicked all the time. It still won't change the fact that sometimes I like a good cliffhanger.

Delphine: thou hast asked, now thou shall receive.

Ambrosius: I agree that there isn't enough Remus/Harry slash. I've searched far and wide, but haven't seen much.

Lover: Ron? I've never seen that before, but it's good. I can see that, since I have the feeling that Hermione would be extremely jealous that Ron, who she's always had to bug to get studying suddenly was offered the chance to shape young minds. Add to that fact that I have the feeling she's always been the tiniest bit jealous of Ron's friendship with Harry, the announcement could have deep ramifications.

Laura Beth: Thanks! Harry isn't quite taking James' place, since he never was as totally carefree as James was. Still, I think that them being able to be together even when Remus is taken over by the wolf inside of him is a good thing.

Your Number One Fan: Brilliant? You think so? *speechless* Wow! As for Sirius, he's been watching them intermittently all year, so he's had time to adjust, he's just lost now, as the two people he's closest to are suddenly an item. Potions Master? Ooh, definite possibilities in Snape's reaction to that bit of news.

MoutainDewChika: Thank you! Hermione sounds good, too. It would create a little, tiny rift between her and Ron if she stayed behind and Harry was with her instead of him. *rubs hands gleefully* I'll have to think about it.


	5. Chapter 5

******

******

Chapter 5

  "Albus what?!"

  Remus was a little taken aback at what Harry just said.

  "You mean he knows?"

  Harry nodded. "I don't think anybody else has noticed. Most of them know that you've been helping me study for the NEWTs, and now exams, so I'm not really worried."

  "I am!" Remus said. _How could Harry take it so casually?_

  "Remus."

  He looked up to see solemn green eyes watching him carefully.

  "That doesn't mean that I'm not worried at all. The people that would really look and see what's really going on are the ones that know what we've been doing. Plus, you really have been helping me study."

  "But..." Remus wanted to protest but Harry rested a finger on his lips.

  "No, Remus." Harry gave an impish grin that lit his eyes. "Besides, the school knows that you are a friend, so most of the students – and the teachers – know that we have a close relationship. They just don't know *how* close."

  Remus could see the logic in that. He could work with that explanation, seeing as how they only had three more days of school. Now, if only Harry would tell him what he had been worrying over for the last couple of days, it would be a lot better.

  "So, what else did Albus ask you?" he asked casually.

  Harry turned startled green eyes at him. "A big question," he answered seriously.

  Leaning against the back of the couch the two of them were sitting on, he thought for a moment on what the headmaster would want to talk to Harry about so close to the end of his student career here at Hogwarts. Hogwarts.... He knew what it was.

  "He offered you the Transfiguration position, didn't he?" Remus finally asked.

  He knew he hit the jackpot when Harry nodded slightly, his face a little closed.

  "I don't know if I should take it," Harry said, his voice a shadow of what it normally was.

  All of a sudden, Remus knew what was bothering the younger man. "Harry," he started. "If you really want to take it, don't let your feelings for me influence you –"

  "But...."

  Remus shook his head. "We can still be together, even though it may be longer between times when we can get together physically. My only want for you is to be happy, whether you're here teaching, or doing something not at Hogwarts."

  He could tell Harry wasn't convinced.

  "What about the offer from the England team for Quidditch?"

  Harry shook his head. "I love the game, but I don't want it to be my whole life. I want you to be it."

  Shaken, Remus just stared at the man sitting beside him. Harry had said that so solemnly, and his heart had jumped. Whenever Harry said that he loved him, he was half-amazed. But this.... Never in his wildest dreams had he ever thought of this. Looking at Harry, he knew that it was what he wanted, too.

  "Harry, I want you to be my life as well. I just think that you should think about what you want to do during the day, such as when I'm teaching. You need to have a part of your life that doesn't totally involve me."

  The younger man sat for a while as Remus watched him. Each time that they were together, he wondered what he had done right for this to happen. He'd never expected to find anything *this* wonderful. It didn't matter to him now what Harry's age was, and the teacher/student part of the problem would be solved in just a couple of days.

  When he had been a student here at Hogwarts, he had loved that feeling of finally belonging somewhere. Just knowing that he had friends in James, Sirius and Peter had been so good for him, especially when his own parents hadn't really bothered with him after he had been bitten.

  Being with Harry was ten times better than even being Moony as a mischief-maker. Harry was his equal. He wasn't a carbon copy of James like others often told him. He was just Harry, and that's all he cared about.

  "Remus?"

  Harry's question broke his train of thoughts. "What, Harry?"

  The younger man met his eyes, determination whirling in them. "I think you're looking at the new Transfiguration professor."

  A smile spread across his face, happiness swirling in him. "I think that you will make an excellent teacher." He leaned closer. "I can give you hints, if you want."

  Harry scooted closer. "What about hints not related to teaching?"

  Remus lifted an eyebrow, definitely willing to flirt with Harry. "Oh, I'm sure I can see about _something._" He bent his head and gave him a quick kiss, tempted to linger but knew that his control wouldn't let him do much more than that.

  Pulling back, he noticed the disappointed look on Harry's face. "Three days," he said to distract the younger man.

  It worked as Harry made his way off the couch and towards the door. "Yes. Three days." He stopped when his hand rested on the doorknob. "Thanks, Remus. And we can worry tomorrow." Giving a sweet smile to Remus, Harry left the room.

  Sitting back again, Remus nodded. He'd worry until those three days were up, but for tonight, he wanted to dream.

******

  Sirius watched Remus and Harry out of the corner of his eye. He was supposed to be reading an article that Remus had given him about the relief efforts still being handed out to survivors, but he was curious to watch the other two men interact. Even though he knew he couldn't change what was going on, that didn't mean he couldn't pay attention and see what was really happening.

  Unfortunately, they were acting just the same as they had before they night they had going on their forest adventure. Neither of them looked totally comfortable sitting next to each other, but Sirius supposed that it was partly because he was in the room with them. Well, he didn't mind that, since he had never liked to be that close to any of his dates and not be able to do anything about it.

  But, they were dating. Not really, anyway, since the bite of a werewolf tended to make dating not that important anymore.

  Sighing, he put down the article and stood, stretching a little. When Remus and Harry looked up from the book they were discussing, Sirius smiled. "I think I'm going to take a walk. I really can't concentrate on that story."

  The other two men gave their own smile in answer.

  "Sirius?" Harry asked. "If you're going to go anywhere near the kitchens, do you think you could bring back a snack?"

  Sirius gave a wicked grin. "Sure! I haven't been to the kitchen in a long time. Sounds good, but I won't be back for a little bit."

  "I don't mind," his godson said back. "I just figure that by then I'll be hungry. Ron dragged me off before I could finish dinner, so all I really got to eat was half my meat and an apple."

  "Poor baby," crooned Sirius, before he gave a small laugh. "We'll have to make sure he eats a lot, won't we Remy?"

  Remus smiled again. "Yes. He's a little too skinny," he said, poking Harry in the side.

  Harry swatted at him and pouted. "I am not. I just don't eat as much as Ron does."

  Sirius snorted as Remus said, "nobody could eat as much as Ron does."

  Harry opened his mouth to retort the statement but Sirius shook his head. "I'll leave the two of you to argue over that. I'll see you in a bit."

  Waving at them, Sirius stood on the other side of the portrait guarding Remus' private rooms for a moment. It was strange, sometimes, how things ended up. For a minute there he could have sworn it was James sitting there, before he realized what he had been thinking. It was his son, though, and no amount of wishing would ever change that fact.

  Still, he wished he could speak with James just one more time. He wanted to ask if James would forgive him about trusting Peter, about how he thought Harry had done in the war, what he would think of his son and Remus being together.

  He knew the answer to the last question, or at least, knew how James would have responded.

  _"Remy would be the perfect partner for someone. He's patient, gently, fierce, loving, gifted. If he and Harry really love each other, who am I to say they can't? Really, love is love. Besides, Remy could use a little loving."_

  "Black." Snape's voice brought him out of his reverie.

  Sirius looked around and found that he had made his way to the little garden behind the teacher's lounge. Snape sat in his wheelchair, looking much more presentable than he had before the accident. Sirius wondered if that was because of Madam Pomfrey, or if Snape had finally gotten a clue as to washing his hair.

  Stopping himself from thinking about that anymore, he just looked at Snape for a moment before turning to watch the sunset over the grounds. "Snape," he finally said. "What are you going to do after the school year ends?"

  The silence stretched for a couple minutes before Sirius turned to look at the Potions Master. The other man was watching him carefully. "Why would you want to know, Black?"

  Sirius could hear the exhaustion in his voice. Looking again, he could see how tired the other man really was. Still, he didn't know how to answer the question. "I'm not sure."

  "Probably want to taunt me?" This time there was some vitriol in Snape's voice. "I'm sure that now I make such an easy target that it will be easier for you to come up with more stupid –"

  "Shut up, Snape."

  Sirius' voice was just above a whisper.

  "That wasn't what I was asking it for."

  Snape shut his mouth with an audible click before he looked down at his hands as they twisted in his lap. "I don't know," he said as he turned his head to the side away from Sirius. "Albus has suggested I go to St. Mungo's, but..."

  "They can't do much," Sirius finished. "I see." He could understand. Even if he had never liked the Slytherin, he had worked with him over the years enough to know that for the first time in Snape's life he couldn't do what he wanted to. Three years had passed since Dumbledore had made them shake hands in the hospital wing, and it had taken Sirius all of those years to realize that Snape was actually a good guy. Tortured by what he had done when he was younger, and fenced in by the role that the headmaster wanted him to play, but somewhere in there had been a man who had only wanted to make friends. Once he had known this, Sirius had made it a point to talk to Snape. Usually, though, their 'discussions' evolved into screaming matches. Even when Snape had been recovering under Madam Pomfrey's tender care the previous year.

  Suddenly he got a crazy idea. He would have to check with Albus to see if it was feasible, but he'd see if it would work. Leaving Snape confused by his friendly 'good-bye,' he set his feet towards the headmaster's office.

******

  Harry fidgeted as he sat at the long Gryffindor table. It was his last meal as an official student, and he couldn't help feeling sad. There were so many memories that were trying to make themselves seen as he looked across the Great Hall. His eyes rested briefly at each of the other three House tables, seeing who was there, and remembering who should have been there.

  "Harry?"

  He looked over to see Ron looking at him strangely.

  "Sorry," he apologized. "I was just thinking."

  Ron snorted. "And that's always dangerous."

  Harry gave him a playful swat as he watched Hermione take the seat across from Ron.

  "So," Hermione began. "Have you figured out what you're going to do this summer, Harry?"

  Sighing, Harry shook his head. "Not sure. I'm going to Sirius' house for a couple of weeks. Remus and the two of us are then going to go on a vacation to that little island Sirius stayed at during fourth year."

  "Remus?"

  Trust Hermione to pick that up. Well, Harry could bluff his way through it until he told them tomorrow. He had deliberately held off telling Ron and Hermione about him and Remus until after school, knowing Hermione's penchant for disliking breaking the rules. And this definitely broke a big one.

  "Yes. Remus, as in he's no longer my Professor as of tonight," Harry retorted.

  Hermione gave him a look as Ron laughed.

  "Mione," the red head started. "I don't think Harry will want to call him Professor Lupin if he's going on vacation with the man."

  Harry nodded, relieved that Ron had saved him, even if he didn't know it.

  Hermione gave them both a disgruntled look before turning in her seat as Dumbledore tapped his glass to get the students' attention.

  "I would like to remind all Seventh Years that they are to report here to the Great Hall at 2:30 for the presentation ceremony. All students are invited to attend. Just let your Head of House know before lunch is over." With that brief announcement, Dumbledore sat down and started talking to Snape, who had actually showed up for a meal for the first time in a week.

  Harry watched them for a moment before he realized that Ron and Hermione were watching him. "What?" he asked, a little irritated at them for doing so.

  "What is Dumbledore going to say about what you are planning to do, Harry?" Hermione asked as she filled her plate.

  Ron looked up from where he was already eating and nodded. He swallowed hurriedly before saying, "Yeah, Harry. You have told us what you're thinking about."

  Harry looked at his plate. He would have to tell them something or he wouldn't get any peace until the ceremony. "I've been talking with Dumbledore about what he thinks I would be good at –" which he had been doing, only it had been planning what textbook would work for him to teach from, "– so..."

  Hermione nodded. "That's what I thought. What did Sirius and Professor Lupin say about it? I know that you were in Professor Lupin's rooms last night."

  Harry was glad he didn't blush. "We were talking about it –" which wasn't a lie. Sirius had been teasing him, calling him Professor Potter all night. He shrugged, not willing to say anymore that would incriminate him later.

  Hermione gave him one last look before she turned to Ron and started talking about when she would be going to the Burrow to help Molly with setting up their engagement party. Ron had asked the minute Hermione had walked out of her last NEWT, but they hadn't announced it to most of the world. Only the rest of the Weasleys, Harry, Sirius, Remus, and Dumbledore knew. The rest of Gryffindor had still been unnerved by their exams, so they hadn't noticed and just thought that it was nice of Ron's mom to throw the trio a graduation party.

  Harry hid a snicker as he remembered Seamus coming up and asking him if he needed a date. He had been startled, since he had thought that Seamus had been going out with Terry Boot of Ravenclaw, but obviously he was wrong. Besides that, he hadn't shown any interest in dating anyone – excepting fourth year, when he was required to have a date for the Yule Ball. It had turned out there was a sizable pool on who he would take to the party, which Seamus had explained to him after Harry gently turned him down, saying that he already had a date.

  When he had told Remus later that evening, both of them had gotten a kick out of it. They had already decided the party would be when they would tell everybody that they were together. The next day Seamus had told him that the pool had changed slightly, since nobody would admit they were going with Harry, so now the pool would go to the person who would find out who he was going with.

  Harry held in another chuckle as he finished his lunch and excused himself from the table, telling Hermione and Ron that he would be in his room, resting for a bit. In reality, he would be working on the papers he needed to register himself with the Animagus Office. He had started the process before he told Dumbledore his decision, but hadn't realized just how long or how much *parchment* it would take.

  After finishing his task, he went to his cupboard and pulled out the dress robe Sirius had bought him for the ceremony. Remus hadn't seen them, and Harry wanted to see his reaction. The fabric was a dark green, but when the light hit it just right it seemed streaked with gold and red. Sirius had winked at him when he handed it over, making Harry wish he could fall through the floor. Once the ceremony was over, Remus and Harry wouldn't be constrained by the rules of teacher/student relations.

  Sirius was all for them disappearing from the room and showing up disheveled tomorrow morning in time for the Leaving Feast. Harry and Remus, on the other hand, had each shot him an intense and threatening look to not mention it again. Harry had been personally torn by the suggestion. He wanted to do more with Remus, but he also knew that he wasn't ready. Hell, he didn't think that he would do much more than kiss before he would explode, and he didn't want to ruin such a special night.

  Sighing as he looked in the mirror as he took in the chaos that was his hair, Harry doused the candles and went to meet up with Hermione and Ron.

******

  Remus almost choked on his words when he saw Harry enter the Great Hall. Luckily he was talking to Dumbledore, whose eyes were dancing and wore a small smile.

  "Yes, he does look rather well," the headmaster stated dryly.

  Trying to get his brain to work enough to respond, Remus nodded. "Yes. He looks perfect."

  Distantly he heard Dumbledore chuckle as a hand rested briefly on his shoulder. "You don't have long now, Remus. Take a couple of breaths and you can last three more hours."

  Remus felt more than saw the headmaster leave. _Three more hours. Three more hours._ The words were quickly becoming his mantra. Hopefully he wouldn't embarrass himself.

  "Remy!"

  For once he was glad that Sirius had interrupted his Harry watching.

  "So, you sure you don't want to make use of my suggestion?"

  Or maybe not. That question hadn't been good for his hormones, which were really racing now. It was really bad, especially since the full moon was in a couple more days. The wolf really liked looking at Harry.

  "Ok, lover boy," Sirius whispered in his ear. "You need to cool down or you won't make it through the ceremony."

  Remus blindly followed his friend outside, where he was promptly hit with some rather cold water.

  "Padfoot!"

  Sirius shot him an unrepentant grin. "I told you that you needed to cool down, Moony."

  Remus shot him an evil glare. "Just remember I *will* get you back." Waving his wand down at his robes, he cast a quick drying charm before pointing his wand at his friend.

  "Whatever." Sirius didn't look too worried by the threat. "Just don't stare at Harry so much and it'll be find. Think of him dressed up like an Eskimo."

  One light brown brow rose slightly. "Any other suggestion?"

  "Dumbledore naked?"

  That did the trick.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

  Harry twitched his robes slightly as he sat in his chair. It was almost time for Dumbledore to announce what each of the graduates was going to do now that they were no longer students. As Head Boy, he would be last in the list.

  "Mr. Ronald Weasley," Dumbledore was saying, "will be training as an Auror starting October 1st. Until that time, he will be helping Messers. Fred and George Weasley in their shop in Hogsmeade."

  Harry held back a grin as several teachers groaned at the prospect.

  "And last, but certainly not least, is Mr. Blaise Zabini, who will be joining the Nimbus Company as a broom designer."

  The audience finished their clapping as Dumbledore moved onto the last two students.

  "Ms. Hermione Granger, our Head Girl, will be working for the Ministry as well, as a Ministry-Muggle Relations clerk." Dumbledore gave a small smile.

  Harry knew that Hermione had been offered the Potions position back in December, but had turned it down right away. He wondered why Dumbledore had waited so long to ask him about the Transfiguration position, but didn't dig too deep. Dumbledore had his reasons, and they were usually too complex for Harry to figure out.

  "Mr. Harry Potter, our Head Boy," the headmaster finally announced, "has consented to be the Transfiguration Professor starting September 1st."

  Harry blushed as the audience clapped harder than it had for anybody else. His defeat of Voldemort the past Spring had earned him many more fans than he had before. As the Seventh years had entered the Great Hall for the ceremony, his name had been called out several times, as Ron made humorous remarks about the people. It had been hard for the Gryffindor boys to hold back their laughter as they sat together with the girls from their house.

  Looking over at Ron and Hermione, he saw that their faces wore expressions torn between shock and happiness. Harry was surprised that neither of them had actually noticed the clues he had left, but then again, he was being subtle and both of them were not used to him doing that. _Just wait until they hear about Remus and me._

  "Now, as you all know, I announced that this would be my last year as Headmaster."

  Harry sat up straight. He, and the rest of the school, had been waiting for Dumbledore to tell them who would be the next Headmaster or Headmistress since he had told them he would be resigning at the end of the year.

  "The board of governors and I have finally agreed on my replacement, as Professor Minerva McGonagall is no longer with us."

  A sharp pang went through Harry at this.

  "I would like to announce that my replacement is...."

*******

AN: Mwahahahahahaha! I am evil! I am wicked! I am... going to ask a couple of questions... Who should be Potions Master? Who will be the next Headmaster?

My sister is almost finished with beta-ing the next chapter, so it should be out tomorrow. So, this cliffie won't be too bad, right?

Thanks to everybody that's reviewed:

lupus luna, xanputek, -_-, and MoutainDewChika!!!!!!!!


	6. Chapter 6

******

******

Chapter 6

  Remus stared at Dumbledore in shock. What was going on? Yesterday at the staff meeting, several of the other professors had been asking the headmaster who would be his replacement. In response, Dumbledore had told them that the board hadn't yet decided, which had startled several of the instructors. The next was the last day of school, and they really wanted to know who their new boss would be.

  Snape had just sat in the corner he had adopted at the beginning of the year, not even bothering to ask. Remus had looked at him in concern, but had found the other man had been shaking his head slightly. It made him wonder if he had been privy to the headmaster's decision, since he would no longer be teaching.

  Still, he could see Dumbledore's reasons for holding back a little. Sort of. He'd think on it later.

  "...The Headmaster will be, or rather the new Headmistress will be Professor Sprout."

  Remus could see that. Definitely. He was one of the first few to start clapping, joining his fellow professors, including Harry and Sirius, who surprisingly was the new potions teacher – Remus wondered how he'd been able to keep *that* secret for so long – in applause.

  Soon the Great Hall was filled with noise, as several graduating Hufflepuffs congratulated their Head of House on the job, standing up on their chairs as the rest of the students began to join their cheering.

  "With Professor Sprout's appointment and Professors Snape and Vector's resignations, we have also had to select two new teachers, as well as two Head of Houses. Professor Sinistra will remain the head of Ravenclaw, and as I stated earlier, the new Professor Potter will be the head of Gryffindor. I would like to introduce Ms. Marissa Warrington, the new Head of Slytherin, as well as the new Arithmancy instructor."

  A young witch nodded her head from where she was sitting in the first row behind the graduating students. Remus remembered her being on the Quidditch team for Slytherin, and that she had graduated in Harry's third year, but other than that and that she had done very well in DADA, he didn't know a lot about her. He made a mental note – just after the one where he checked Dumbledore's sanity – to talk to her soon. He really didn't want the rivalry between the houses to be like it had. Especially since it had often set up boundaries that no one wanted to cross.

  "And now for our new Head of Hufflepuff and Herbology instructor, I'd like to introduce Mr. Amos Diggory."

  Remus gave a small smile as he saw the happiness on Harry's face. He knew the problems the other man had had over Cedric's death, and it hadn't been until Dumbledore had called in Amos that Harry had started the process to forgive himself. Remus remembered the helplessness that he and Sirius had felt when they saw that no matter what they had said, it hadn't changed Harry's feelings that Cedric's death had been his fault. Remus sent a warm smile to the older man, who had lost a lot during the war, not just his son.

  Dumbledore raised his hand, cutting off the applause that had filled the Great Hall. From his signal, it was clear that he hadn't quite finished with all of his announcements.

  "The board of governors and I have talked with Professor Sprout about who would be the best candidate to be the Deputy Headmaster or Headmistress. Together we have narrowed it down to one person. If he would accept the job, I would like to ask if Professor Lupin would like to take on the job."

  Remus' heart stopped as he looked over at Dumbledore. _What!?_ No, he must have been hearing things. Dumbledore hadn't just asked him to be that, had he?

  A nudge from Sirius woke him from his stupor. Glancing over to Harry, he saw that the younger man was shocked by the announcement, but was also smiling happily at him. Suddenly a loud noise startled him, and he turned to the audience to find many of the students on their feet once again.

  For once it didn't bother him that he was a werewolf. If his students were happy with this, he was willing to take the position. Nodding, he gave a small smile to Dumbledore before turning it on Harry and Sirius respectively.

  He was still in shock over what Dumbledore had announced Professor Sprout as the new Headmistress (only the third one in the history of Hogwarts) and the explosive response the students had given to his being asked to be the new Deputy Headmaster, and so the rest of the ceremony passed in a haze. Soon after, though, Sirius dragged him and Harry into a little room just off the Great Hall, not giving them a chance to talk to anybody else. Remus knew that Harry would have to talk with Ron and Hermione about his new job, and they both had to talk to Dumbledore, but Sirius obviously wasn't going to allow it.

  "Remy, did you know about this?" Sirius was asking.

  Shaking his head, Remus answered, "no."

  "Harry?" Sirius turned to look at his godson.

  The younger man shook his head. "I'm just as clueless about this as you two are."

  Remus leaned closer and brushed his hand against Harry's in reassurance, even though he recognized the shock he felt in the other's face.

  "Well, I'll leave you two alone for a minute, shall I?" Sirius pointed at their hands, which were twining together.

  As he left, Remus looked at the closed door thoughtfully. There had been something just a little off in the way Sirius' voice had sounded. He wasn't quite sure what it was, but it hadn't been anything bad. In fact, he had sounded... lonely. Was Sirius thinking they would abandon him now that he and Harry were together?

  "Remus?"

  Shaking off his thoughts and putting them on hold, he looked down and found anxious green eyes looking up at him. Smiling, Remus turned fully towards Harry and pulled him into his arms. Harry tucked his head into Remus' neck, as the older man felt his silky hair brush against his cheek.

  They stood like that for several minutes, just needing to be with each other to gain a hold on sanity. Finally, Remus felt like he could get through the rest of the night.

  "Ready?" he asked as he stepped slightly back from Harry.

  Harry gave a shaky smile, but nodded anyway. "Yes. But I think I'll be coming to your room after this is all over with. I don't want to have Ron and Hermione asking me questions all night."

  Remus chuckled and understood. "Harry, you're always welcome," he said, smiling. "Anytime."

******

  Hermione almost tackled Harry the moment he stepped out of the room.

  "Earlier you said that you didn't know what you were going to do, and now this?" she asked, her voice rising higher with each word.

  Harry cringed as people around them stared at the trio. The only thing that made it bearable was the fact that Hermione's face turned as red as Ron's face usually did when he was embarrassed.

  "I never said that I wouldn't be doing something like this," Harry started to say with a smile. He stopped and the grin faded when he noticed Hermione's face grew even redder as she grew angry.

  "Why didn't you say something about this?"

  Ron laid a hand on her arm. "Mione. Calm down."

  "I will not! You're our best friend, Harry! Why didn't you say something about this before? I thought we could trust you and that you were keeping something this big a secret from us...." She let the words hang in the air, obviously not caring about who heard her.

  Harry looked her in the face, his eyes sad. "Because I wasn't, and am still not, sure about this. But I can tell that you don't like the thought of me being a teacher, so I...." He didn't finish the sentence as he turned and walked away. He hadn't expected Hermione to blow it so out of proportion. Actually he had figured that Ron would get a little mad at not being the first to know, but Hermione.... It was so totally out of character for her.

  He looked across the Great Hall and found Remus talking to Dumbledore. Making his way over, he avoided talking to anybody. Once he was next to his lover, he leaned close.

  "I'm going up to my room," he whispered.

  Some of his feelings must have showed because Remus gave him a worried look and Dumbledore a concerned one.

  "Are you all right, Harry?" Remus asked.

  He shook his head. "I don't know," he said. "I just... need to get away from here."

  Dumbledore nodded. "Remus, why don't you take him back to his room. Maybe you two should talk."

  Harry watched as Remus gave the now former headmaster an anxious look before turning towards him.

  "Let's go."

******

  Sirius pushed himself away from the wall where he had been leaning. He had watched as Harry had talked to his friends and seen the Head Girl blow up. What really got him was the way Harry looked. It was so sad, and it looked as if his heart was being torn into pieces. Sirius didn't think that Harry knew any of this, but was glad that he went over to Remus.

  A few minutes later, he watched as Harry and Remus left the Great Hall, going unnoticed by anyone. At first he wasn't sure why, but then noticed that Dumbledore had started to direct everyone to the table that were lined up on the opposite side of the door where food had been laid out.

  He walked over to where the older wizard was standing, looking out over the crowd.

  "What do you think happened?" Dumbledore asked.

  Sirius shook his head. "It looks like Hermione didn't like the idea that Harry had been keeping a secret." He shot a look over to where the girl was standing, Ron trying to talk to her. He wasn't getting too far, as Sirius saw he was getting frustrated. "I wonder how she'll react to Harry's other secret."

  Dumbledore hummed his agreement. "We will have to keep an eye on that. Were they planning on going to the party together?"

  Sirius nodded. "Yes. I'll stick close to them, in case Hermione blows up again."

  "Part of this is I think that young Hermione asked me a month ago if the potions position was still open."

  Sirius almost gave himself whiplash turning to face Dumbledore. "What?"

  Dumbledore gave him a quick glance before turning his eyes back to the corner where Hermione had wandered. Ron was nowhere near her as she talked stiltedly to Neville and Hannah. "I believe that she is a little jealous that Harry will get to stay here."

  "But I thought that she was going to go into the Ministry, just so she and Ron wouldn't have to spend months separated at a time?"

  "Yes, that was her plan," the older wizard said gravely. "I believe, however, that Ms. Granger is regretting turning down such a position."

  Sirius was troubled. What if she was jealous of him for getting the job she wanted? He hadn't really talked to her enough before the ceremony, and now that it was announced that he was the new potions instructor, would she even want to talk to him? That made him think a little on it and say, "Do you think that I will make a good professor?"

  Dumbledore chuckled. "Yes, Sirius. The board and I believe that you will be a very good teacher. You may not be a master like Severus is, but all of the pranks you pulled when you were a teenager was beneficial. You will be able to handle the mistakes better than him, even if he can make the more complicated potions."

  Sirius thought over it. He knew he was good at potions. He and Snape had fought for first place in the class during their seven years here as students. Hmm. He should talk to Snape about the classes, and it would give him a chance to ask the question he'd wanted to direct to the other man. First he had asked Dumbledore and Poppy if there were any special medical requirements that Snape needed, then he'd asked Remus and Harry if they minded another person coming along to the island.

  All four hadn't objected to his idea, and Sirius had been proud of himself for setting it into action. Possibly for the first time in his life, he would actually set out to give Snape an enjoyable time. No pranks, no taunting. Nothing. Besides, he knew that being in the sun was healthy, and Snape needed the rest he would get on a vacation. He still remembered how good the sun had felt after being in Azkaban, and wanted the other man to enjoy it as well.

  Straightening his shoulders, he gave a nod to Dumbledore and walked over to where Snape was talking to the few Slytherins left that had graduated. He never noticed the twinkle in the old man's eyes.

******

  Harry sensed that he was being watched as he let Remus out of his room. The common room for his and Hermione's rooms was dark, and he couldn't tell if anybody was there.

  "Thanks, Remus," he said in a soft voice, just in case.

  Remus smiled. "No problem, Harry. We should talk to Dumbledore before he leaves on vacation. He said he would be here until the 15th of July to help Flora adjust to her new job."

  Harry nodded. They had spent most of the night talking about what had happened during the ceremony yesterday, glancing over what had happened afterwards. The two of them had eventually fallen asleep, still clothed, on Harry's bed. It had been nice, waking up next to Remus. His warm body had generated a comforting feeling in Harry, one that he was content to lay in for a while. However, Remus had decided it would be prudent that he return to his room before anyone else was up and about.

  Harry returned the smile and leaned over, giving the older man a swift kiss. "Sure. We should drag Sirius along before we leave for the island. I'm pretty sure that he wants to know what's going on."

  Remus took a step back. "I'd better go."

  Nodding, Harry followed him to the door, closing it without a sound after he left. Sighing, he leaned against it and closed his eyes.

  "Harry?"

  He jerked upright at the sound of Ron's voice.

  "Ron?" He looked over to where he had heard his friend, but it was too dark to see him. "Lumos," he commanded, and the lights went up to their pre-dawn setting.

  Ron was sitting on the couch, and judging by his appearance had been there all night. His red hair was jutting out at crazy angles, and there were wrinkles on his face from the throw pillow he'd been using.

  "Why are you out here?" Harry asked as he moved to the couch. He sat down as Ron pulled himself into a seated position, tucking his long legs underneath him.

  "Mione and I were arguing and she kicked me out. I didn't want to drag myself back to my room." Ron sounded dejected.

  "What were you fighting about?"

  Ron turned troubled blue eyes to Harry. "She doesn't want to go to her new job."

  Harry's eyes widened at the flat tone of his friend's voice. "Is this about my being the new Transfiguration professor?"

  The red head shook his head. "Not entirely. It was just the last piece." He looked at Harry and gave a half-hearted smile. "And now that Sirius is the potions professor, I get the feeling that for the first time, Hermione isn't sure about what she wants to do. The only thing she does want is to marry me."

  Harry smiled. "I'm glad for that."

  "Me too," Ron agreed. This time his smile was a little more genuine. "I just want her to be happy about what she's doing."

  "You love her," Harry said, "and that's the best thing you can do right now."

  Ron nodded and grew silent for a couple of minutes. Harry was satisfied with just sitting with his best friend, the castle still quiet in the early morning hours.

  "What's this with Remus?" Ron suddenly asked.

  Harry was glad that the lights weren't at full power. He was sure that his cheeks were quite red at the question.

  "Nothing," he tried to stall. He saw, out of the corner of his eye, that Ron wasn't buying that. "We're dating."

  Ron had a triumphant look on his face. "I knew it!"

  "What!?"

  The red head gave a smirk. "As if you haven't been looking at the man all year."

  Harry's cheeks turned purple. "What... does Hermione know?"

  Ron shook his head. "No. She's been so wrapped up in school, that I think she forgets the rest of us are human sometimes. I think it's a good thing that she remembers me from time to time."

  "Just keep reminding her, okay?" At Ron's nod he went on to say, "Remus and I.... Well." He stopped, not quite sure how to word it.

  "You're in love?"

  Trust Ron to be blunt about it.

  Harry nodded. "Yes. We haven't done..." his cheeks grew red as he searched for words. "We haven't done anything but..."

  "Kiss?" Ron sounded intrigued, and while Harry was glad that he wasn't brooding over his and Hermione's fight, he just wished it wasn't about him and Remus.

  "He's..." Harry took a deep breath. _Why couldn't this be just like when Sirius had caught them kissing?_ No. Maybe not. Still, he knew that if he showed Ron what went on, his friend would understand. Pulling aside the shirt he had thrown on yesterday, he turned so that Ron could see the healed bite mark.

  "He's marked you," Ron breathed.

  Harry avoided looking into his friend's eyes, not sure how he should explain any further.

  "He must really love you, Harry."

  His head whipped around and found Ron looking at him with an awed expression. "What?"

  Ron shook his head and met his eyes. His blue eyes were serious and happy and a whole bunch of other emotions that Harry couldn't quite read. "The mark. It's a sign of his willingness to be with you until one or both of you dies. A werewolf will only mate with one person."

  Harry was stunned. He hadn't known that, since they had never been taught *that* much in depth about werewolves. He didn't count Snape's aborted class on it, or the fifth year assignment on it by the reporter-in-disguise that was their DADA teacher. Even Remus had glossed it over when he had helped them review for the NEWTs, but Harry figured that was because the subject hit so close to home.

  "How did you know all this?" he asked.

  Ron smiled. "Since I noticed you watching him on the train." He laughed at Harry's astonished look. "I've been your best friend for seven years, Harry. I think I know what your moods are. That doesn't mean I knew what was going on right away, but when I figured it out, I decided to do a little research."

  "Does Hermione know?" Harry couldn't help asking the question again. He didn't really want to admit it, but he was a little scared of what her reaction would be to his dating his now former teacher. And had been the last month of school.

  He mentally sighed in relief at Ron shaking his head.

  "I didn't want to say anything about it until you said something." Ron gave him a steady look. "I figured that you would tell us when you were ready. It's just now that...."

  Harry understood. Ron was just as baffled by Hermione's reaction as the rest of them were. Only for Ron is was much worse, since he was in love with her. Harry loved her like a sister, but Ron was much closer to him so he understood him better. He wouldn't presume to say that he understood Hermione at times.

  A sound from Hermione's room alerted them to her waking.

  Harry smiled at Ron as he stood. "I'll see you at the party, then?"

  Ron looked startled. "You're not leaving with the train?"

  Shaking his head, Harry looked out the window opposite the couch. The sky was turning a light shade of purple and fuchsia, telling him that it was close to 6. "The full moon is in two days. Padfoot and Smoke are going to be with Moony."

  Ron smiled. "So, does Sirius know how to make the potion?"

  Harry gave a light chuckle. "Snape's going to be teaching him for the next couple of months."

  The red head shuddered. "I wonder how Hogwarts is going to survive that explosion."

  They looked at each other for a moment, then burst out laughing. Each of them was trying to reign in their chuckles when Hermione's door opened to reveal her eyeing them. Her glare was enough to rival Snape's from a couple of years ago.

  Harry didn't back away. Instead, he smiled at her, tossed a "see ya later" to Ron, and went back to his room.

**********

AN: Here it is as promised! If Hermione seems OOC, I don't think she really is. She's been the number one person in their year, and all of a sudden she's heading into something so foreign that she's frightened. Even if she's a Gryffindor, there are some things that scare her. (Note that Harry was scared about becoming a werewolf. He loves Remus, but was terrified about the unknown.)

Surprised at my choice of the new Headmistress? I finally picked Sprout because: 1) As a Hufflepuff, she know how hard being the Headmistress will be, and is willing to work at it, and 2) Cedric was the first casualty of the war, and from the point when Harry came back with his body, Sprout has been involved. She's seen the ups and downs of what her house has gone through since the end of the Tri-Wizard Tournament. Besides that, there will be some interesting reactions to her being the Headmistress coming in the next couple of chapters...

Thanks to:

Mistress Cresacre: Here's more. There's more of Ron and Hermione's reactions next chapter, as well as the rest of the Weasleys.

Lady Foxfire: Neville as Potions Professor? *chuckles* Oh, what an idea.... It has merit, but I think the dynamic between Snape and Sirius will be interesting to watch.

Keira: Snape's going to be hanging around for a while. He doesn't quite trust Sirius in his new post, and he wants to watch over his children (the Slytherins).

Sou: Did you guess right?

Kenaz Astaroth: Evil? Thanks for the compliment! As if my sister didn't mutter it under her breath when I scare her dates off.... (That's what older sibs are supposed to do, right?)

MountainDewChika: I understand how hard it is to think of all the professors. I must have gone over all the books to name them all, but in the end Professor Sprout sounded the best.

Loverwren: Sirius' idea goes into action the chapter after next. I have an idea of what's going to happen, but I'm getting ahead of myself.

Bella Ireland: I'm getting to it!!!!! And don't be sorry. I tend to be lazy about reviewing once in a while. (Usually that's because I can never remember my password for signing in. ~_^)

Juliane: "...Dark Lord running around..." my sister thought that was hilarious. She went on to say that she could imagine Voldemort wearing a pair of jogging shorts and trainers, going through the park, flirting with the ladies, running after squirrels.... And our parents think I'm the insane child.........

And about McGonagall – there were a couple of things. One was that she was always willing to protect what she cared for – in this case it was the children (just like her chess set for the Philosopher's Stone). The second was that she was willing to die to do that that makes her sacrifice all that more bittersweet. Her death is one of the reasons why Dumbledore wanted to step down. After all, they had been friends and colleagues for close to fifty years when she was first his student.

About Ginny's birthday, Harry considers her a part of his growing family (which will grow even larger – well, by one person but it's getting bigger) and wishes he could help. However, magic isn't a cure for everything, and even with all the magic he has, he can't help. Rather than get frustrated – that's reserved for Dark Lords – he does what he can.


	7. Chapter 7

******

******

Chapter 7

  Remus stared at the headline in horror.

HOGWARTS SCANDAL: WHAT'S NEXT, A 

VAMPIRE AS A TEACHER?

By Rita Skeeter

Two days ago, former Headmaster Professor Albus Dumbledore announced his replacement.

Professor Flora Sprout, former Head of Hufflepuff House and Herbology professor, was named

the new Headmistress of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Along with this news

was the announcement that Professor Remus Lupin, current Defense Against the Dark Arts

Professor and Head of Gryffindor House would take the position of Deputy Headmaster.

Many in the Ministry were appalled by the news, and some people are calling for the resignation

of members of the Board of Governors for the school in light of this news. Former Minister 

Cornelius Fudge told me this: "I always knew that Dumbledore was insane, and this is proof of 

his inability to run the school."

Others, however, are taking a "wait-and-see approach" to the announcement, while the new Minister 

of Magic, Mr. Sloan Sumner, stated that "he was overjoyed at the refreshing change was happening,"

and that "the students were in capable hands."

Talking with people on the street, I got the chance to discuss the changes at Hogwarts, and the

results were mixed. Parents that I talked to were happy with the announcement of Professor Lupin

taking a more active role in the way the school is run. Arthur Weasley, Head of Muggle Relations,

said that he "was glad that the board and [others] were finally seeing that Flora and Remus would

ensure that the students at Hogwarts will get a well-rounded and fun education."

Mr. Borgin, proprietor of Borgin and Burkes, was sickened by the news. "That anyone would trust

their child to the care of a Dark creature such as a werewolf, I say that they are crazy."

Already several hundred letters have poured into the office here at The Daily Prophet about the 

announcement. Editor-in-Chief William Childs had stated that if enough letters come in, they will

be printed in a special edition.

  "Remus?"

  Harry's voice sounded worried. Putting down the newspaper, he lifted concerned eyes to his lover.

  "That bad, huh?" Harry asked as he sat down next to Remus.

  The older man sighed and leaned lightly against Harry's arm. He felt a little better when Harry wrapped an arm around him, giving a side hug.

  "Shall we sick Sirius on her?"

  Remus chuckled weakly and looked back at the paper. "I don't think he's seen it yet."

  "Ooh." Harry sounded quite thrilled at seeing his godfather's reaction to the article. "He should be here soon."

  Nodding, Remus laid his head on Harry's shoulder briefly before sitting up straight. As he did, the doors to the Great Hall opened to reveal some of the other professors, eager for their breakfasts.

  Flora Sprout took one look at them and stopped in her tracks. "Is it that bad?"

  Remus started to nod, but found that the others were looking at Dumbledore, who entered the large room and gave a big smile.

  "My, my. What a big to-do they're throwing about this!" The older wizard had a spring to his step as he walked over to Professor Sprout and took a hold of her hand. "My dear," he said as he patted her hand. "I wouldn't worry too much about this."

  Remus knew that this was a sign of Dumbledore's insanity, but it wasn't like he hadn't seen it coming. Luckily, only Harry heard his sigh.

  "Remus?" the younger man whispered in his ear. "Shall we leave now or wait the ten minutes it takes for Sirius to find out what's going on?"

  He opened his mouth to reply when Sirius walked through the doors of the Great Hall. Turning to Harry, he said, "We might as well stay now."

  As Sirius sat down, Harry handed him the paper and carefully backed away. Remus watched as the other man's face turned several colors before settling on one color – a violent red.

  "What!? Who does she think she is? This is that bug lady, isn't she, Harry?" Sirius didn't wait for Harry's nod before continuing his rant. "At least she had the good sense to ask people what they are thinking about this... but Borgin! That fool in his shop in Knockturn Alley deals with the dark so much, why is he suddenly afraid! As if Remy would hurt a fly!"

  Remus' face turned a soft shade of pink as Sirius listed a number of his good qualities. Looking over at Harry, he found the younger man nodding his head in agreement. For at least ten minutes the new Potions professor ranted until he realized all the other people in the room were watching him with amused looks. Taking pity on him, Remus filled his breakfast plate up and held up a fork.

  "Sorry, Remy, Harry," Sirius said sheepishly, grabbing a hold of the utensil.

  "No problem, Sirius." Harry laughed at his godfather's expression. "It was no problem at all."

******

  Harry signed the parchment, making sure to put his status as Order of Merlin, First Class under his name. Sirius had suggested, once he had calmed down a little after breakfast, of writing a letter to The Daily Prophet. All of them agreed that something of this magnitude would probably be put on the first page.

  Harry would make sure of that by reminding Rita of something only he knew about her. While the rest of the wizarding community knew that she had been an illegal animagus for years, Harry had found out that she had also been sleeping with Fudge for several years before the Tournament. While Fudge was married. While *she* was married. Now was the time for him to use his leverage. It was times like these that made Harry realize just why the Sorting Hat had wanted to put him in Slytherin. Not that he would tell anybody else. That was reserved for the select few he had told in fifth year.

  He watched as Remus handed over the quill he'd been using to sign the letter to Sinistra. She would be the last to sign, since three of the professors had refused to have anything to do with the letter. Or at least this one. Dumbledore was writing his own letter, reasoning that since he was no longer a teacher, he wasn't qualified to sign the letter sent by the staff at Hogwarts.

  Marissa Warrington, the new Head of Slytherin, had informed them that she would not sign the letter. She would reserve her judgment for the time being. Like any true Slytherin, she was waiting until she gathered all the facts. Harry had already made a note to himself to watch was she was up to. He still remembered how she had acted in his second year on the Quidditch field. She and Flint had made problems for the Hufflepuff team, committing five fouls between the two of them. He knew that if she was willing to do that in a *game*, she was more likely to do it in the "real world."

  Sibyl Trelawny had also refused to sign the letter. In fact, the woman had only stepped from her tower long enough to tell Sprout that she wished to be alone. Since then, only the house-elves had seen her when they went to take her food trays. Remus and Sirius had told him several stories about the terror that they had made in her classes when she had first began teaching at Hogwarts. Harry wasn't sure if it was an old grudge against Remus and Sirius, or the fact that she didn't care one way or the other.

  He had always thought of her as a loony, privately agreeing with Professor Snape that she was a charlatan. The two predictions she had made while he had been in school had been correct, but when she wasn't guided by something else (which Harry thought had happened, since her voice had been completely different and she remembered nothing) she was a fruitcake. Harry didn't mind her refusal, especially since she had deemed it an insult when he dropped her class in his fifth year to take something that was needed more for the war than divination. Besides, getting tutored by Professor Dumbledore one-on-one was miles above being in some stuffy room where his death was predicted once a week.

  Harry looked over at Sprout and Dumbledore, who were conversing quietly. The two had been together for most of the past three days since school had gotten out, and only showed up for meals. Starting tomorrow, both of them would start meeting with the individual staff about what they were planning on implementing, starting with Remus. Once he and Harry had met with them, they would be traveling to the Burrow for the party Molly was throwing for Ron and Hermione's engagement.

  Thinking of that reminded Harry of the letter he had gotten from Ron that morning. Pig had twittered madly all the time that Harry had struggled with getting the letter off his leg. Sirius and Remus had been laughing the entire time, until Harry reminded Sirius that he was the one who gave Ron the flighty bird. Then Harry and Remus had been the ones laughing as Sirius spluttered about how hard it was to find an owl that Buckbeak didn't scare.

  Ron had written that he had told everybody at his house about his appointment, but had kept quiet about Harry and Remus being together. Molly had been ecstatic about Harry's new job, while Fred and George had commiserated about it, and Ron had told him that he hadn't understood what they had been saying about what Harry had to do with their shop. Harry was glad that the twins had accepted his request that he be a silent partner when they had asked him. Harry was waiting for Molly to not get a nervous twitch whenever someone mentioned the joke shop in her presence before they announced his role in it – he was pretty sure that he wouldn't be invited to the Burrow ever again if it got out at the moment.

  The red head hadn't said anything about what the reactions about Harry and Remus would be, but told them that he wanted a front-row seat when their classmates realized that Harry was taken. He had written that it would be some fine entertainment, and that he would probably welcome the break it would give him after his and Hermione's engagement had been announced. While Harry wasn't sure of that, he just wanted people to know that Remus was his and he was Remus'.

******

  Sirius took a deep breath as soon as they apparated to the Burrow. He liked the air here in Ottery St. Catchpole. It was clean and smelled like the mint that grew in the fields near the house.

  After greeting Ron and his family, he separated himself from Remus and Harry to find himself a seat. He wasn't in the mood for their chatting, since all it did was make him think about how *alone* he felt. The past couple of days had been hard on him as the other two had spent an enormous amount of time with each other, and while he knew, somewhere in his mind, that they needed it, he still felt left out.

  He was rather happy with himself for inviting Snape to go with them to the island. After spending two days badgering the other man, Snape had finally relented, and while Sirius was sure that it was because he was getting tired of his asking, he was glad. Sparring with Snape made him feel alive, especially after the nights where he had nightmares. Azkaban featured prominently in them, from him thinking that he was still there to seeing his friends or Harry there.

  All of them needed this vacation, even if he had to put up with Remus and Harry being lovey-dovey.

  "Sirius!" Dumbledore was standing next to him. "Why are you hiding in the corner?"

  He sent the older wizard a quelling look that the former headmaster ignored.

  "Determined to get a good seat, then?"

  "Albus..." Sirius wasn't quite in the mood for Dumbledore's jovialness. Thankfully, the older wizard's attention had been grabbed by the appearance of Charlie Weasley and one of the red head's friends. The second oldest Weasley had played a prominent role in the war against Voldemort, trying to keep the dragons safe from him. He had been mostly successful, and only one dragon reserve had been attacked before it could be made unplottable. He had been very glad that the dragons hadn't gotten involved. Sirius hadn't fancied trying to hold off a Hungarian Horntail as well as Death Eaters.

  For the next half hour, Sirius kept to himself, sipping on the drink Molly had pressed into his hand as she passed him. Soon it would be time for Ron and Hermione's announcement, shocking those who had expected this to just be a graduation party. He had also been keeping track of Harry and Remus. The two had stood close to one another, but hadn't been touching, which he knew they wouldn't. They weren't the type to do that in front of a lot of people. They had acted the same way at school, only touching when Sirius, and now Dumbledore, was around.

  A ringing sounded over the large yard in back of the Burrow. Sirius looked over to where a sea of red heads had congregated. It still looked small, since Ginny and Bill weren't there – Ginny being in St. Mungo's, and Bill stuck in Egypt, unable to get a couple of days off from work.

  Once everyone's attention was on Ron, he stood on the table, ignoring his mother's request that he get off it. Smiling broadly, he dropped a hand to Hermione and pulled her up onto the table as well. Harry was standing next to the table with Remus at his side, grinning up at the two on the table.

  "The three of us have brought you here under false pretenses," Ron began.

  "What!?" yelled Seamus. "Does that mean we don't get food?"

  Parvati, who had been standing next to him, slapped him in the back of his head. "Shut up, Seamus!"

  Neville, who was attached at the hip to Hannah Abbot, shot them both a sideways glance. "Ignore them, Ron," he said, earning laughter from the crowd.

  The youngest Weasley brother grinned his thanks to his friend. "Ahem. Now, back to what I was saying!"

  "Ron?" Hermione began. "Are you going to take forever with this?"

  Sirius laughed as he saw the expressions on various faces. Most of the people around them were expecting another of their legendary fights.

  "Oh, yes," Ron agreed. "I thought we'd stand on this table all day and dance!"

  Hermione giggled, startling everybody. Normally she would have said something back to Ron and they would argue until a certain point and then not speak to each other for days. "I'm game!"

  "Oh, for Merlin's sake!" That was Harry. "Would you two just get on with it?"

  "Yeah, Ron, you're taking too long." Fred and George said the words at almost the same time.

  "I had to build up suspense," Ron told them. He grinned again and looked out over the crowd. "I would like to say that Hermione –"

  "- And my parents," Hermione interjected.

  "- And her parents," Ron repeated, "Have given their agreement for her marriage to me in the month of September."

  The crowd was speechless as Hermione turned to him. "Those manner lessons I've been giving to you have really worked!"

  Harry and Charlie began laughing, setting off the rest of the Weasleys. Their laughter trickled out into the crowd, eventually reaching Sirius, who had been holding back laughter the entire show. The performance had reminded him of when James and Lily had announced their engagement, except that had been done in the middle of the Great Hall three days before the end of seventh year. Nobody, including him, had known that he had proposed the week before. James, being the prankster he was, had convinced Lily to keep it a secret until just the right moment. And what a moment it had been. Sirius and Remus had practically jumped James as Peter had stammered his congratulations to Lily. Her friends had then bombarded her as Dumbledore had stood up and politely clapped, the rest of the staff had joined them. Soon the entire Gryffindor table, and most of Hufflepuff had congregated around the happy couple.

  Sirius sighed as his memory drifted away. They had been so happy then, and now.... He had Harry and Remus, but they had each other....

  "Sulking, Black?"

  Sirius turned to find Snape sitting three feet away. He hadn't noticed when the other man had shown up, and hadn't known he'd even been invited. Whether it was Hermione refusing to let any of the teachers they'd had be slighted, or Ron's tendency to want to show off to Snape, he didn't know. Either way, it was actually good to see the man he had spent most of his life despising getting some fresh air.

  "No, Snape. I was just thinking how this reminds me of when James and Lily told the Great Hall their engagement."

  The black-eyed man narrowed his eyes but said nothing, surprising Sirius with his restraint. Usually any mention of James set Snape off. But over the last month he had noticed that there hadn't been a reaction at all, doubly so now that Sirius and Snape were working together. Albeit grudgingly, Snape had said that Sirius would make a decent potions instructor if he remembered that he was there to make the students learn, not have fun.

  "When did this happen!? I'm glad that you didn't tell me that... that – !"

  Both of them looked over to where Hermione was standing opposite Harry. The two of them had been speaking all the time that Sirius and Snape had been, but something had set the girl off.

  "Shit!" Sirius muttered under his breath as he watched Harry's face fall. He looked around and saw that Remus was on the other side of the yard, talking with Arthur and hadn't heard anything. Looking quickly at Snape, who was also watching the pair, he swiftly walked over to his godson.

  "Hermione?" Harry was asking. Sirius could hear it break slightly, but knew that he wouldn't cry.

  "It's disgusting!" Hermione said in a heated whisper. "I could tolerate Seamus being with Terry, but I didn't have to talk with him."

  Sirius stopped at that. He was surprised by Hermione's reaction to what he knew Harry had told her. Now it seems that she had stomached her fellow year-mate being gay, but didn't like the idea of her best friend liking men. That reaction was rare in the wizarding world, where people loved/married different species, let alone the same sex.

  "Fine." Harry's voice was barely above audible. Sirius' heart threatened to break at the rejection in it. He watched as green eyes that should never been that sad ever again looked at Hermione one more time to look at Sirius. "Take me to Remy, please?"

  He couldn't say no to him. Throwing a dark look at Hermione, whose face was red with anger and disgust, Sirius guided Harry over to where Remus was still talking to Arthur.

  "Harry!" Remus looked at his lover for a moment before turning to Sirius. "What happened, Siri?"

  Sirius glanced over to where Hermione was now arguing with Ron on the other side of the yard. "Hermione thinks it's 'disgusting' that you and Harry are together."

  "That's a shame," Arthur said, reminding Sirius and Remus of his presence. Harry hadn't noticed anything as his hand slipped into Remus'. "You two will be perfect for each other."

  Remus gave a grateful look at the balding man next to him. "Thanks, Arthur."

  Arthur smiled a little sadly. "I just hope Ron will be able to talk to her."

  Sirius nodded as he watched one of Harry's best friends storm away from her fiancé. He looked down at Harry and found he had been watching as well, his green eyes wet but refusing to release the tears.

***********

AN: This chapter is done! It's a little short and seems a bit stilted to me when Ron's doing the big declaration, but it's hard to write while waiting in the CCU family lounge. Now that my Grandmother is better (and she wouldn't have been in the hospital in the first place if she'd taken the medicine the doctor prescribed for her!) the next couple of chapters will be out sooner than the time it took for this one. My sister gave it a quick look-over, but it's not perfect. I may get around to re-uploading it if there are any blatant mistakes, but it depends. I'm lazy, it's Sunday, and I missed my nap....

Lady Foxfire: Snape's fate is coming soon. There's a brief glimpse of what he's working on next chapter.

The Red Dragons Order: Thanks!

Sou: Very good guess work! I think Sinistra's only mentioned twice in all the books, so Sprout was a better choice to pick. There's actually more material to work with. Of course, I can still take license with her.... ^_^

Loverwren: Here's the start of Hermione's reaction. We'll see more of it later.

Sabrina: Thank you!

Witchchild: Reactions will trickle in over the next couple of chapters. Most people were still shocked over the engagement, and then Hermione's reaction to something they don't know.

Saavik: Thanks! And maybe. I'm not sure if these two would let me do that – they are both very stubborn!

MountainDewChika: I don't mind the gushing! Yes, Sirius and Snape are going to do some major bonding. *rubs hands gleefully* I can't wait for that!


	8. Chapter 8

******

******

Chapter 8

  Remus stayed next to Harry for the next half hour, making sure that he was fine. He was grateful for Arthur's support for their relationship, and now that he thought about it, the other man didn't seem *that* surprised by the news. Harry had told him that Ron had guessed about the two of them being together, and Remus wondered just how many of his family knew the truth about Harry and himself.

  Eventually Seamus bounced over to them. Remus had always liked the Irish boy. He seemed to know the right moment to inject a little levity, often helping to release the tension that tended to build when they were discussing something truly awful in class.

  "So," Seamus began, pointing to their clasped hands, even as they were hidden in the folds of their robes. "When did this happen?"

  Remus watched as Harry smiled, returning the Irish boy's own. His lips twitched as Harry shook his head. "Why should I tell you this?"

  Seamus winked at the both of them. "Because I told you about the pool?"

  "Pool?" Remus asked before he could stop himself.

  Harry shook his head in embarrassment as his face turned red as Seamus answered.

  "Yeah! We had a pool going as to when our dear little Harry would find someone to call 'his lurve.'" He winked again, this time quite suggestively. "But, once we knew he found somebody – that has to be you, Professor Lupin –"

  "Remus," he interjected. "You're no longer my student."

  Seamus smiled. "Remus." He took a deep breath and launched into his explanation again. "We've been trying to figure out who it was. Harry told me that he was bringing a date to the party, but I didn't really think anything about when you two were standing close together. You did that during school, so it was no big deal."

  Remus exchanged a look at Harry. Both of them were surprised they had acted like that long before they acknowledged their feelings to each other.

  "But when Sirius practically lead you, Harry, over here, it just clicked," Seamus finished, looking at the two.

  "You don't have a problem with it?" Harry asked. His voice was soft, and Remus could tell that it held a hint of expected rejection.

  "Me? Have a problem?" Seamus laughed, drawing the attention of the people around them for a brief moment. "Harry, I was trying to get into your pants half the year."

  Harry's face went a bright pink as Remus gave a chuckle. He knew that Seamus meant no harm when he said that, even as he cursed himself for being so oblivious to what had been in his face. After all, he was the one to go home with Harry tonight.

  "So, can I tell Neville?" Seamus asked. "He and I had a bet on who you'd be bringing."

  "Seamus!" Remus could practically feel Harry's embarrassment at the admission.

  The Irish boy gave a carefree grin. "Just kidding!" he yelled as he took off at a fast rate, leaving Harry to lean slightly against Remus in his indignant anger.

  "Sometimes I wonder about him," Harry eventually said, shaking his head.

  Remus gave him a thoughtful glance before searching the crowd for where Seamus had gone off to. Finding him speaking animatedly with Neville, Hannah, and Padma Patil, he turned back to Harry. "Are you worried about their reactions?" he whispered.

  Harry shrugged his shoulders. "I know that some of them won't be shocked that I'm gay, but I don't think most of them had a clue I was pining over someone in the first place."

  Remus saw that he was feeling better as he caught sight of the grin that crossed Harry's lips. As tempting at they looked, he didn't want to create a scandal that was already half in the making. He would wait until they got back to Hogwarts, where they could rest in peace until the fallout started.

  Deciding that they should get going, he and Harry rounded up Sirius from where he was arguing with Sirius about how to treat the students this coming fall, said a quick thank-you and good-bye to Molly since they couldn't find Ron, and disapperated to Hogsmeade.

******

  Harry sat down and looked at the blue sky.

  "Hello, Draco," he said in a soft voice. "I know I'm a little early this week, but I'm leaving on vacation. Me and Remus and Sirius... and you won't believe me when I tell you that Professor Snape – excuse me, *Severus* – is joining us." Harry chuckled. "I couldn't believe it when Sirius suggested it, but now that I've seen Snape, I know why.

  "Snape's done with teaching. I think that he wanted to make sure the rest of your classmates made it through to graduation before he stopped. And in a way I'm glad. He's been hurting a lot lately, and being down in the dungeons with the Slytherins hasn't been the best on him. I know that he's been visiting Poppy often the last couple of months, and he spent a month here in January.

  "I know that I told you about him when I visited before, but I thought I'd let you know how he's doing. Between the three of us, we'll make sure that he gets better, even if he keeps on muttering about being stuck with Gryffindors. I think I heard that he's coming here before we leave. I know that he's been coming here off and on for a while. Poppy said that it's good for him."

  Harry sighed and didn't speak for a couple of minutes. Instead, he watched the clouds as they rolled past, a soft breeze blowing the tops of the nearby trees.

  "I told you about going to the Burrow for the party last week, right? Well, things didn't go exactly as planned."

  He was quiet again. Remus and Sirius had talked to him about it, but it was hard not to think about what Hermione had said. One minute he was talking to her about the wedding and the next she was telling him that she didn't want to speak to a person like him. Seven years' worth of friendship meant nothing to her because he was in love with another man.

  "Hermione told me that it was an abomination for a man to love another man. I don't think so, and most of everyone else I know thinks that, too. I talked to her mum a couple of days ago, to see if Hermione would talk to me. Her mum told me that all of this is because of the way she grew up. It wasn't them, but they go to church every Sunday, where they learn that being a homosexual is a sin. Mrs. Granger said it didn't bother her, but Hermione's a different story. Once she's got her mind set on something, it won't change."

  Harry gave a sad, derogatory laugh.

  "Hermione is smart. I know that, you know that. But what I've come to realize is that she isn't smart at all. She thinks that every thing there is to be learn comes from a book. There are things you can only learn from life itself. I think that you knew that back in fifth year when instead of calling her 'Mudblood' you called her 'egghead.' Ron and I were angry with you for doing that, but I think Hermione actually thought it was a compliment.

  "You saw what we couldn't, Draco, and I wish you could have told us that. Maybe we wouldn't have listened, but it would have made us think."

  Harry laughed, a much bitter laugh than earlier.

  "Ron wrote me about what he and Hermione had been fighting after Sirius got me away from her – and I am really glad that he did that, I wouldn't have been able to move otherwise – and said that he would either have to give her or me up. Nice, huh?"

  Harry sighed.

  "I'm thinking that you must be sick of hearing me gripe about my life, instead of telling you what's going on. Remember when I told you that I kissed someone? It was someone I shouldn't have kissed, at least not at that time. But it was the right moment for it. You probably think I'm getting soppy if I told you that it was sweeter than what I thought my first kiss would be. It was back in Christmas – and I was half-drunk – but it was wonderful.

  "And then the second.... I think that one was even better. I was sober and he was sweet. I know that it's very Gryffindorish to say something like that, but I like it. Remus is very sweet. I think you would like him now. I know you didn't like him as a teacher, since he actually taught us something. And add in the way your father raised you... it wouldn't have worked. But now....

  "Maybe I'm biased because I love him so much, but I think that you could be good friends. I mean, once we got past all that stupid fighting we did our first five years we knew each other, I learned you were so much different from what I imagined you would be. You're smart, and when you aren't insulting my friends you talk intelligently."

  Harry slumped in his chair. He felt rather stupid saying this, but he felt like he had to talk to someone. He loved Remus dearly, but the other man would blush and say that everything Harry told him wasn't true. Sirius wouldn't take him as seriously as he wanted. He loved his godfather dearly, and knew that the older man reciprocated his feelings, but it was a little mushy for Sirius to really want to listen to. Snape... no. He respected the man as a teacher, but there was not enough money in Gringotts for him to talk to the man about personal issues. Harry could always talk to Dumbledore, but the old wizard would just smile and nod like he always did, his blue eyes twinkling madly while he offered a lemon drop.

  He studied the clouds for a while, letting the peaceful environment around him seep into him. It was quiet here and he liked it. He knew it was the best place for Draco, who, early in their sixth year, had decided that he wouldn't follow his father's path to Voldemort. Harry still wasn't sure who had been more shocked, Draco or Snape. Both of them had ended up in the middle of a meeting for the order, arguing about Draco's place in the war when Dumbledore calmly insisted that if the Slytherin boy wanted to help he was all for it.

  Draco had insisted that he prove himself worthy, though, and while most of the others had wanted that, Harry had pointed out that he already had. As Ron and Hermione stared at him as if he suddenly had three heads like Fluffy, Harry had told those assembled that Draco had proven himself in the way he wanted to help, even with knowing what would happen should his father meet up with him. That had quieted down the order, all of who had been staring at him as if he'd gone barkers. Except Dumbledore and Snape. That had been the first time the Potions Master had even acknowledged Harry's intelligence, which had been strange. But it had earned him respect from Draco.

  Over the next couple of months, the two had learned they worked well as a team. Each had seen faults laid out by the other, and had strove to fix them. Harry had been glad for the help as attacks escalated, growing increasingly close to Hogwarts as Fall drifted into Winter.

  Draco had been one of the students with McGonagall when she had fallen, and rather than letting the others be taken, had started to fight back. It had ended up with him fighting his own father. Draco had eventually killed his father, but he had ended up here, not knowing what had happened from that point until the present.

  Still, Harry was here to talk. At first Poppy insisted that Harry come and talk. It would be a kind of therapy, to help Harry realize that the attack hadn't been his fault and that things could have gone even more terribly than they had.

  "I know that Blaise came and visited with you before he left school and that he was going to design brooms. I gave him that sketch we put together a couple of days before the attack, and he said he would see about getting it into production. He thought it would make a good broom, since its qualities are good for a seeker.

  "He also said that he would try and visit once he gets back from the States. There's a good program for broom designers at the university over there, and it'll take about a year for him to take all the courses. He wasn't sure if he would make it back for Christmas, since both Portkeys and planes from the States to here are expensive. I hope he does.... 

  "He misses you, I think. It was strange to see him at the Slytherin table for the longest time, and he seemed to be wanting to talk to someone intelligent. I tried the best I could, but I will never be a substitute for you."

  Harry bowed his head and was silent again. War was a terrible thing. If it didn't cost a person's life, it cost them dearly in other ways. Snape had to deal with the loss of using both his legs. Ginny... she would waste away in the same manner as Neville's parents did if they couldn't find something to help her. And Draco.

  A rustling noise alerted him to somebody nearby. Turning, he found Snape sitting in the doorway.

  "No response?"

  Harry shook his head. "Not today." He looked back down at the emaciated body of Draco Malfoy as it lay on the hospital bed. The blond had been brought here after the attack, unconscious and wounded badly.

  Poppy suspected that he didn't want to face a world where he'd had to kill his own father and that's why he didn't wake up. His body was as healthy as could be for someone who had been sleeping for eighteen months, but Harry – and the rest of the staff – were afraid that he wouldn't last much longer.

  Snape wheeled over to the other side of the bed and held the boy's hand in both of his. Harry watched the both of them for a while. Finally, he stood and made to leave when Snape's voice stopped him.

  "I'm looking for a potion that will help him."

  He turned around and found the Potions Master staring at him. His face was etched with pain like it had been for a long time, but his eyes held something that Harry couldn't discern.

  "I hope you find it," Harry softly said. He gave Draco another look before he turned towards the door once more. _I really hope you do, for your sake and for Draco's._

******

  Remus stuck his toes in the sand, feeling the warmth it held reach deep inside him. Next to him, Harry lay stretched out on the blanket, enjoying the sunshine.

  _Sirius was right,_ he thought. _This is the perfect place to get away._

  Speaking of Sirius, he looked over to where he was coaxing Snape out of his chair and into the ocean for a relaxing swim. Both of them were determined to get their own way, and had been from the moment they stepped foot on the island four days ago. While it was rather strange to see the two men getting along as well as they have, Remus thought that there was something missing. Sirius and Snape had learned to tolerate the other's opinion, but they weren't to the point where they respected each other. Both had the mentality of a guard dog in that regard.

  Remus looked down to where Harry was and found green eyes watching him.

  "Have a good nap?" he asked.

  Harry nodded and sat up, stretching lightly. "It was good, but even better having you here when I woke up."

  Remus blushed at the comment and the shy smile that accompanied it. Since they had left England, the younger man had started saying things like that, and while Remus loved it, it was still new enough to embarrass him. It hadn't helped when Sirius had overheard such a remark last night as they were retiring – in separate beds, mind. His friend had teased them mercilessly all through breakfast, until Snape had told him to shut up or he'd throw him in the garbage dump in the back of the hotel.

  The Potions Master hadn't been perturbed at all by Remus and Harry being together, which was fine by the two of them. The only thing he'd said to them about it was that he didn't want to see anything sappy. Remus interpreted that to mean anything more than sitting close to one another.

  He didn't mind that at all if he got to sit next to Harry. He liked being that close to the younger man. Harry smelled of fresh apples and falling leaves. Even in the midst of tropical heat, he reminded Remus of home.

  Harry's warm body brushed against his as he wrapped his arms around Remus from behind. The younger man let his chin rest on his shoulder as they both watched Sirius and Snape argue.

  "How many times have they had this same argument?" Harry asked, his breath fluttering in Remus' ear.

  He shivered slightly at the sensation, but answered, "Too many times. I think that it's all they can talk about."

  Remus knew that Harry smiled, even though he couldn't see his face. He rubbed along Harry's forearms where they were wrapped around his waist, smoothing the dark hair that lay there. Remus leaned back slightly, savoring the feeling of Harry skin to skin. With the warm sunshine on them, it was easy to forget the outside world, and as much as he wanted to ignore it, they were going back to it in three days.

  Harry shifted, waking Remus from the doze he had fallen into. A bright green gaze drifted over Remus' face as the younger man twisted his body so that he was facing Remus rather than sitting behind him. Remus looked at him as well, eyes wandering from the lovely face and traveling southward. His gaze stopped at the mark he'd made a month and a half ago. The skin hadn't tanned like the rest of Harry's skin. Remus had worried about it, but Harry admitted that he liked it not blending in. He lifted a hand and lightly touched the mark, earning him a soft sigh from Harry.

  Remus bussed him on those soft lips before pulling slightly back. "How about we leave the children and grab something to eat?" he suggested.

  A black eyebrow lifted above an intrigued green eye. "Hungry how?"

  Remus felt a faint blush rush across his cheeks at the leer directed at him. Sometimes he wasn't sure why Harry wanted to be with him. It wasn't as if he was *that* young, and never would be again. Still, looks like that made him feel *loved*, like he had wished to be when he was waiting for the full moon to turn him into a monster.

  "Remus?" Harry's voice sounded concerned, and when he looked up, he found that he was wearing a worried expression.

  Shaking his head, Remus leaned closer. "It's nothing I should worry about, Harry." He gave the younger man another kiss, this one a little longer than earlier. He turned his head just enough to look down the beach where the two black-haired men were talking. Seeing that they weren't paying attention, he stood up, lending a hand to a confused Harry and helped him up. "How about we get out of here?"

  Harry grinned and hugged Remus, nuzzling his nose into his gray-streaked blond hair. "Yes," he whispered into Remus' ear, sending a shiver over his entire body. Remus clutched him a little closer, kissing his way from ear to mouth.

  Soft lips brushed gently against his before becoming a little more demanding. Obliging Harry's request to open his mouth, Remus did so and welcomed the younger man's tongue. He swirled his tongue around it, pulling a moan from Harry, even as he held back one himself as Harry's hands moved from his waist to his arse. It escaped as Harry nipped at his lower lip, his soft lips trailing down along his chin and up to his ear.

  "Shall we?"

  Remus drew a deep breath as he caught sight of Harry. His lips were a soft red color even as his green eyes were dark with desire. Nodding, he leaned in for another kiss, sure that he couldn't last until their room before he could have another.

  He tasted Harry's sweet mouth, convinced that he would never be able to get enough of it. Remus trailed his hands across Harry's warm shoulders, the sun's heat radiating off them and increasing the heat between them. He felt Harry's hands flex, pulling him closer to the hips his were attracted to. Just as they touched and two pairs of bulging swim trunks brushed each other, Remus pulled back. "The room. Now," he demanded, grabbing Harry's hand and pulling him back to the hotel.

  Harry's laugh sent a tingle down Remus' spine, but he didn't stop until Remus' mouth shut it the moment they were in their room.

**********

AN: *cheers* Yeah! This chapter's done! *dances* And Chapter 9 is half written, so it'll be out soon as well.

About Draco: no, he's not dead. But he's not like Ginny is, either. He doesn't want to have to live after taking his own father's life. While a part of him knows that it was the right thing to do, the rest of him is in mourning. Everything he had done when he was younger was in the hopes that his father would love him. I think that the only attention Lucius ever paid to Draco was to instruct him on how to be a proper Malfoy, as well as what side they should support. Once he was old enough, and when he'd gotten a quick glimpse of what true war between light and dark magic was like, Draco found that he couldn't follow his father anymore. He finally realized that dark magic destroys everything it touches and that it wasn't worth the pain to dive into it. Plus he saw that while Voldemort treated even his most reverent servants like slaves, Dumbledore and everybody serving him were equals. Even Harry, who was fifteen/sixteen, was respected and never put down for his ideas, when Draco had been punished by his father for having an original thought. There will be more on Draco in later chapters.

And about Hermione's thinking Harry being disgusting: This comes from a royal fight I had with my roommate, and somehow it slipped into the fic. I wasn't going to have her react so violently, but something told me that she could act that way (hey, if she could slap Draco, I figure she can get quite vicious.

Thanks to:

The Red Dragons Order: Thanks! Both Fudge and Skeeter seem to be the kind of people that wouldn't bother.

witchchild: I'm working on it. It all depends on if they cooperate.

xanpetuk: Snogs? I'll have to ask Severus if he'll want to do that. Right now he's got other things on his mind, but he's stubborn

Mistress Cesacre: Seamus doesn't seem to mind, and the Weasleys are going to follow Ron and Arthur's lead. Harry's another brother, and they already liked Remus, so it doesn't bother them at all.

Phyrekitty: Thanks! Sirius and Sev... it's plodding along.

Mystical: I think Hermione acting that way came from how she reacted to Sirius sending the Firebolt. She has such a strong sense of what she thinks is right that she can't bend from it. Given the way she was raised, she hasn't been able to accept the true adult way of seeing the world. She's scared and doesn't know what is going to happen for the first time in her life.

Thanks for the plug! I like this pairing more than most (including hetero), and in my quest for a story I found that writing one kind of fills the void.


	9. Chapter 9

******

******

Chapter 9

  Sirius held back a sigh as more sound came from the room on the other side of the suite. Sometime yesterday afternoon Remus and Harry had disappeared and hadn't been seen since. Snape had tossed a snapped "What do you think they're doing, Black!" at him before he had gone into their shared bedroom. Having spent the rest of the day waiting for his friend and godson to appear, he had stewed in his own thoughts.

  Finally Snape came out and ordered dinner, ignoring Sirius for the most part.

  Only when the food came did Sirius get off the sofa. He knew he was sulking, but.... He had suggested this vacation for all three of them to be able to relax with each other, without the threat of anything hanging over them. Having Snape along hadn't been as bad as he thought it was, and actually had distracted him from what was going on.

  Now it was time for breakfast, and Sirius was getting worried. While he had been trying to fall asleep, he'd come to the revelation that both of them had been ready for the next step in their relationship, and Sirius didn't figure into it. A part of him was jealous about the attention they paid to each other even as the rest of him scolded for thinking such thoughts.

  Sitting across from Snape as they dug into breakfast, his eyes kept on looking towards the door to Remus and Harry's room, and while he was impatient for them to come out, he wasn't sure what his reaction would be. Should he tease them or just leave them alone?

  "You think too loud, Black," Snape said, the first words he'd uttered this morning. "They'll come out when they're ready."

  Sirius eyed him thoughtfully. He wondered just when Snape had taken the time to get over his hatred for both Remus and Harry enough to not care one way or the other about their relationship. It was intriguing, and if there was one thing Sirius couldn't stand, it was an unsolved mystery. One of these days he'd find out just how the Potions Master thought.

  The door opened across from where Sirius was sitting, giving him the perfect spot to see Remus and Harry step out of their room. While both of them were smiling broadly, neither of them were acting any differently than they had been the rest of the time they had been here on the island. Seeing that, Sirius decided he would act just like he had yesterday morning and the days before that – tease them a little and then discuss what they were going to do for the day.

  "Sleep well?" he asked. He was rewarded by a slight flush on both of their cheeks. Sirius pretended he didn't see them as he refilled his plate. "So, what did you want to do today?"

  Harry sat down next to Sirius and poured a cup of coffee, handing it to Remus as the older man seated himself next to him. "There's that restaurant on the other side that you were saying you wanted to go to, Sirius. We could make a day out of it, if we cruise around that area."

  Remus nodded. "What do you think, Severus?"

  Sirius watched as Snape considered the idea. Looking at him, he thought that Snape seemed tired today, more so than he usually was.

  Just as he was about to suggest they do something else, Snape nodded. "It sounds good." Sirius was surprised, but didn't let it show as he continued to eat. As they discussed their plans, he vowed to himself that he would make sure Snape didn't exhaust himself. Even if he was up to it mentally, his body hadn't quite adapted to half of it being out of commission.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

  Harry sat heavily on the couch, dropping the bags he had been carrying most of the day. All four of them had found the day quite enjoyable, but now it was late in the evening and all he wanted to do was go to bed. He wasn't sure if he was up to doing anything with Remus beyond cuddling, but he was ready to retire for the night.

  Sirius dragged himself over to the couch and plopped down next to his godson, propping his feet up on the low table. "That was fun," he said in a tired voice.

  Harry nodded, not willing to put forth the effort to vocally answer.

  Remus entered the common lounge in the suite, coming from Sirius and Snape's room. He had gone in there with Snape to help the other man put his purchase away. Harry watched as his lover puttered around the room, gathering together all the bags and then separating them according to whose they were, wondering where he had gotten this last burst of energy.

  "Remy," Sirius called to him. "Why don't you sit down? We can do that in the morning."

  Remus shook his head. Harry saw that he had an odd look on his face, as if he wasn't sure what was happening. "I don't know. Something's not right."

  Harry frowned. He thought he had been imagining that feeling all day, and had dismissed it as being excited about what they had been doing. But halfway through dinner something had really felt wrong. His thoughts, however, had been distracted by the waiter stopping by to see if they would want dessert and hadn't thought of it since. Now that Remus had brought it up, the feeling was getting worse.

  Not sure of what it was, all three spent the next hour speculating what it could be. Finally they gave up and went to bed. They had two more days to enjoy their stay, and they wanted to make sure they were rested enough for it.

  The next morning he woke up to a smiling Remus, his hand holding a card.

  "What's this?" he asked as he sat up, the sheet falling to his waist.

  Remus didn't answer, choosing to look at Harry's bare chest.

  "Remy?"

  The older man pulled his eyes to Harry's and he could read lust there. "Happy Birthday, Harry."

  Harry grinned. "I've never had a present like this before," he said slyly, opening the card.

  Remus shuffled sideways, moving to sit side by side with Harry as he read the card.

  "Happy Birthday, indeed," Harry said as he tossed the card to the floor and pulled Remus down onto the bed, ignoring the owls lined up on the windowsill.

******

  Hedwig flew in the window, just as they were piling their luggage together for the journey home. There was a large bundle tied to her leg, and she seemed quite anxious. Frowning, Remus watched as Harry pulled it off her leg and starting reading.

  "Fuck!" Harry's shout startled the other three in the room.

  Remus walked over to him and looked over his shoulder. The top parchment he held was a letter from Ron, but under it he could see a news clipping from The Daily Prophet. His eyes scanned the letter, and pretty soon an expletive left his mouth.

  "What is it, Remy?" Sirius asked.

  Harry looked up from the letter and handed it to Remus so that he could finish reading.

  "Hermione's...." he stated in a dull voice.

  Remus lifted his eyes from the parchment to find that Harry's face had paled and he was swaying slightly. "Harry?"

  Sirius was next to the younger man in an instant, guiding him towards one of the large chairs that were opposite the couch.

  "What does it say, Lupin?" Snape asked as he watched the other two.

  Remus looked over the article briefly before handing it to Snape. "According to Ron's letter, Hermione broke off the engagement after Ron told her about his brother Charlie."

  "What did that particular Weasley have to do with this?" Snape wanted to know.

  "Charlie's been seeing that Eric guy for a year," Harry supplied, his voice fairly monotone. "We were talking before Ron and Hermione... announced their engagement." He gave a mad sort of laugh that worried Remus. "I guess Ron doesn't have to choose anymore."

  "Choose?" Sirius looked a little confused.

  Remus answered. "Ron told Harry that Hermione was making him choose between her and Harry."

  Snape sucked in a breath, but Remus was certain he was the only one to notice. A small part of him wondered if Snape wasn't of the same persuasion as the rest of them but dismissed it. Snape had never dated anybody when they were in school, and he couldn't remember anybody talking about Snape in a romantic sense – that frankly scared him.

  Harry pulled out the clipping from The Daily Prophet. He quickly scanned it before handing it to Snape. "Hermione chose a – quite vocal way of breaking up with Ron."

  "Didn't she blow up after the graduation ceremony about Harry's getting the Transfiguration position?" Sirius asked. Remus remembered the reaction she'd had to that, and at first didn't think that it fit into her breaking off her engagement with Ron. Then, thinking about it, he realized that there was a quite similar reaction to both of the incidents. Once the rest of the students had left the day after the graduation party, Harry and he had gone over it, trying to figure out what had been Hermione's problem. It looked like it just wasn't because she was jealous, more like she was....

  "I think she's scared." Harry said. "Ron and I talked about it, and we both thought that she was just being scared. But this..." he pointed to the clipping in Snape's hands and the letter Remus still held. "It's gone far beyond that. I don't think she's taken the time to look at everything like she usually does. I don't think that she wants to see what's really going on."

  He had finished reading the article and there was a faint sneer, reminiscent of the Shrieking Shack. Remus saw that he was disturbed by this event, but wanted to get all the facts before he really started to think about fixing it.

  "I agree with Potter." Snape finally handed the article to Sirius. "She's never been one to not look at something from every angle. Whatever is driving her to do this is fairly deeply ingrained in her. If there is one thing about Granger, it is her open-mindedness, aside from her intolerance of the Slytherins."

  Remus watched as Hedwig flew over and perched on Harry's shoulders. The younger man softly stroked her white feathers for a minute before he spoke. "Her mother mentioned that she spent a lot of time in church last summer, and from everything the Dursleys ever said about this, I'd say she probably feels the same way. The only person I saw react even close to this was Simon Moon of Ravenclaw when he realized Colin liked him last year." Harry sent a smile to Remus, as the older man held back laughter when he remembered *that* occasion.

  Sirius nodded as he looked up from the letter. "Judging by the way she's acting now, I'm glad you didn't tell her anything before."

  "I agree," Remus added softly. He looked at Harry's eyes and they were shuttered and knew that he was trying to hide his reactions. Again he cursed the Durleys for bringing him up the way they did. This was a learned behavior, because both his parents had been very open. And even though he liked Harry's sense of independence when it came to thinking, it was hard to get around his emotional walls sometimes. This quite obvious break between his best friends could be devastating.

  Snape broke the short silence that had fallen. "We can't do anything about this now, so we might as well get back to Hogwarts."

  Remus hid his smile as his snapped comment. It was good to see that not everything about his former classmate had changed after the accident. Pulling Harry out of the chair, he led the younger man into their room and gave him a quick hug. "Let's wait a couple of days before we try anything, okay?"

  Harry nodded dumbly, trying to burrow into Remus' chest even further. "I didn't want this to happen."

  Remus felt him shudder slightly before he pulled away. A pang went through him as he saw Harry's face. His eyes, though, were filled with both anger and sadness. Giving a soft kiss to the scar on Harry's forehead, Remus looked around the room to make sure they hadn't left anything. "Ready?"

  His lover gave a soft grin. "I wish we didn't have to leave, but Ron...."

  Nodding, Remus pulled Harry into another hug. "I know."

  "Come on you two!" Sirius yelled at them from the lounge of their suite. "Stop being all mushy and get going!"

  Remus smiled as Harry shook his head in exasperation. "Will he ever grow up?"

  Remus shook his head. "I doubt it. Now, let's go. I already have plans for next summer and this place."

  Harry gave Remus a decidedly lustful grin. "I hope so."

******

  Ron had shown up the day after they got back. Sirius and Snape were deep into making potions, squabbling madly over the best way to prepare them, leaving Harry and Remus to bring Ron up to date on what they were doing. That suited Harry just fine, as he had the feeling that Ron still felt intimidated by Snape's presence, even if he had invited the man to his engagement party.

  The red head looked like he hadn't slept in a week. Considering that's almost how long ago Hermione had ended their engagement, Harry was pretty certain that it had been hard for Ron to get any sleep at all.

  Harry sat next to Remus as they ate dinner in the Great Hall that night, wishing he could tell his friend that everything would blow over quickly, but knew better than to say it. He had the feeling that this would drag out for quite a while, since it would be pretty hard to get in touch with Hermione at her parents' house. In the meantime, he would have Ron do something that would occupy his mind. Ron would be working half days at his brothers' shop in Hogsmeade, giving him plenty of time to come up to the castle each day from the village.

  At the same time as trying to keep Ron's mind occupied and off his fight with Hermione – he definitely needed some breathing space, Harry was also planning his lessons. Thankful that Remus was there for him to ask questions, Harry found that he was really starting to look forward to teaching come September. Each night the two of them would look over things that would be needed for the coming year, both for their classes and the students of Gryffindor. Once they were done with that, they hid themselves away from the rest of the castle in Remus' rooms.

  That was the best part of the day for Harry. It didn't matter if they cuddled or made love. Being with Remus was *good*. It calmed Harry. Well, most of the time – he didn't mind getting riled up by Remus. He certainly didn't mind *that*. Harry felt his cheeks flush and hurriedly left the hall before he embarrassed himself, ignoring the sniggers coming from Sirius.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

  Remus was in a meeting with Sprout and the other Head of Houses, leaving Harry and Ron alone two weeks later. The red head still looked like he hadn't gotten much sleep in the time he'd been back to Hogsmeade and the castle, and Harry was starting to get worried. Nothing had been heard from Hermione, and the one chance Harry had managed to get a hold of a phone had netted nothing as well. He'd talked to her mother for quite a while, and what Mrs. Granger had told him made him very concerned.

  Harry hadn't wanted to tell Ron that Hermione had never shown up to her parents' house like she told Ron she was heading for. Ron would be hopeless in such a Muggle setting – especially since he couldn't pronounce half the words correctly. After listening to him rant about it for quite a while, Harry had managed to convince Ron that it wouldn't be the best if he went looking for her. If he didn't happen upon her, she probably wouldn't talk to him right away. Ron had finally relented when he realized that Harry was right about Hermione being stubborn enough to not talk to him.

  Instead, Harry had alerted Seamus to the situation, and his friend had set off for Hermione's house, as Seamus' father was Muggle, so he at least knew what could be happening. Besides, Seamus was one of the few people that Harry knew he could trust to put in an effort, even if he'd alerted a few people in the Ministry to her disappearance (excepting Arthur and Percy). His former roommate would be joining Ron when Auror training started in October, and in the meantime he was glad for the rescue from boredom.

  He was worried about her disappearance – it told him that something was terribly wrong, and made him feel guilty for being mad at her for wanting to throw away seven years of friendship.

  Beside him, Ron was getting restless. They had been sorting through the replies of new first years and returning students, but it was coming to the point where nothing could hold his friend's attention for very long before it wandered back to Hermione. Harry was wondering just what he could do to shock his friend into doing something other than moping when he realized he hadn't gone to see Draco yet. Today was his normal day, and he usually went after dinner, but two hours ahead of schedule wouldn't hurt.

  "Ron," Harry said as he stood up. "I have something to show you."

  Ron looked up; his eyes dull with dampened emotions. "What?"

  Harry shook his head as he pulled on Ron's arm. "We're going to the hospital wing for something."

  Ron took a step back as soon as he stood up. "If this is about a sleeping potion, I'm not taking one," he stated emphatically.

  Sighing, Harry gave him a look. "No. This isn't about that. I just thought there might be something there that can help you through this," he held up his hand when Ron opened his mouth. "No, it's not a potion. You'll also be helping somebody else at the same time."

  Ron was quiet for a minute. Harry could tell by the look on his face that he was debating whether it was worth the effort for him to go with Harry or not. Finally he nodded and Harry dragged him down the hallways before he had a chance to rethink the idea.

  Once at the hospital wing, Harry waved at Poppy as she left her office. He knew that she was busy preparing the potions that she could, slowly restocking the ones that could sit for the next school year. She looked surprised when she saw Ron behind him, though she nodded the unasked question Harry directed at her.

  "What is this place?" Ron asked as Harry led him to a small room down the hall from the main infirmary. "You never came here."

  Harry shook his head. "I come here every week, at least for the last year and a half."

  Ron still looked a little lost.

  Suppressing a sigh, Harry pushed the door to Draco's room and headed to his usual seat. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Ron's shock.

  "But... he's dead!" Ron exclaimed, the freckles on his face standing out on his pale skin.

  Harry shook his head. "No, Ron. He's in a coma."

  The red head dropped heavily into the chair close to Harry's. "I thought... Who else knows about this?"

  "All the staff," Harry told him. "I've been coming here since this happened, and only missed last summer and those two weeks I was recovering from fighting old Voldie."

  "But..." Ron was at a loss for words. Harry could tell he didn't know what to think.

  "The Ministry let everyone think that Draco died in the attack to protect him from Voldemort and the Death Eaters," Harry said as he picked up Draco's hand. "Now it's up to Draco whether he wakes up or not. He's safe here."

  "So..." Ron said slowly. "What will everyone think when he wakes up? What about Malfoy Mansion?"

  Harry shook his head. "Draco told me he didn't want the mansion, and besides, the Ministry seized it the week before the attack. I doubt they would let Draco have it back. There were some pretty nasty things there, and I don't think he would want the reminders he'd find there."

  Ron didn't say anything for a while, and Harry was content to just sit there. Draco's hand was as warm, which Poppy said that he was healthy. Harry took that as a sign that Draco was trying to come back, but he tried to keep a realistic edge to his hope. As the weeks passed, it was harder to think that his friend would ever wake up.

  "What do you do, Harry?"

  Harry jumped, startled at the break in the silence. Throwing Ron a smile, he shrugged. "I talk to him. Sometimes I help Poppy turn him or give him potions if he's sick."

  "He is sick, isn't he?"

  Shaking his head, Harry looked back at Draco's serene face. "No. But every once in a while he'll catch a cold. Poppy said that's because he's in a dormant state and his immune system isn't as strong as it was before."

  "Oh." Ron looked at Harry with a confused look on his face. "So, how will this help me?"

  Harry gave a soft smile. "Try talking to him."

  Ron gave him a dubious look. "He can't hear me."

  Sighing, Harry shot Ron an exasperated glance. "He can hear you. It's just he won't respond – not until he makes up his mind one way or the other." Harry's voice dropped down into a lower octave. "Even if you talk about the most consequential things – like the weather or the latest Quidditch game – it's good. Poppy wants him to remember that there are people here that care for him."

  "I – I don't know, Harry," Ron said. "I don't know if I could do it. I can't just forget all the insults he's tossed at me over the years."

  Harry stood up and towered over Ron, who shrunk down in the chair. "He changed, Ron! Don't you remember that he was willing to give his own life to protect Gryffindors, not to mention his own housemates on Christmas? He's not that boy that insulted you on the train first year!" Harry threw a concerned look at Draco, who lay unmoving like always and his voice softened. "Draco is a friend, Ron. And if he ever does wake up, I would like it if you could get along." Looking at Ron, he saw a thoughtful look cross his friend's face. "Now, why don't you just talk to him. I'm going to check up on Remy. His meeting should be just about over."

**********

AN: Whew! I thought me sister would never get done with the beta on this. As a consolation, I decided that I would put up the next chapter. I practically made her sit down and read both of them and chapter 11 – well, I bribed her that I would pay for her to go to the movies with me to see The Road to Perdition.

Thanks (for stroking my ego) to:

The Red Dragons Order: Thanks! I think that Seamus is a realist. Most stories I've read have him being way too bouncy, but I think that it's more of a façade (It's like Duo's mask from the Gundam Wing series).

Sabrina: Thanks so much! ^_^

Mystica: sorry about the 'L'. Stupid Word likes to auto correct *way* too many words. I'm glad you like Sirius and Snape. I also don't like Sirius paired with anybody – but if he is, then Remus. But, as he's taken by Harry, then Snape is just as good. They have a dynamic that's hidden beneath their anger, but if they could get over their respective almost-deaths, they would find they are so much alike that it's funny. Harry/Seamus – hmm. It's tempting.

About the pool, I'll try to work it in. Probably in the chapter where Harry gets to teach his first classes – chapter 12 or 13. It gets sad before it gets better.


	10. Chapter 10

Two quick notes: 

1) '######' indicates a quick flashback (even though it's a different POV).

2) This is the chapter that earns the 'R' rating. Brief, non-graphic descriptions of violence. Some angst.

******

******

Chapter 10

  Harry stared at the parchment. Seamus hadn't been able to find a trace of Hermione, and that wasn't a good sign at all. He heard Ron's sigh as his friend entered the room. Once again Ron had been in to see Draco, and while Harry was glad that he was talking about his feelings, he was afraid that his best friend was using him as a substitute for somebody who could give him feedback.

  Now it was time to put out feelers in the Muggle world. As much as the Durleys and he mutually disliked each other, he had learned a lot from them, including how to get the police on his side – this stemming from an incident the summer before his sixth year and a Death Eater sighting in the neighborhood. Once he had done that, Harry had managed to get done with his class planning and had started to work on some of the responses that were flooding in from the special edition The Daily Prophet had finally printed.

  He smirked, remembering Sirius' reaction to it.

######

  Sirius hopped from foot to foot, waiting for either Remus or Harry to open their door. The Daily Prophet had finally published their letter and those of the rest of wizarding Britain, and already several owls had started to pour into Hogwarts. He wanted to make sure that the two knew what was going on before they got bombarded with the letters.

  He had woken early that morning; sore from the long night he'd had trying to finish a potion. He had sent Snape to bed, as the other man had started to look tired. The two of them had fought something fierce before the Potions Master had finally relented. Relieved, Sirius had continued on with the potion, at one time missing the other man's company. As a consequence of his early rising, he'd been the first one to the Great Hall and had spied the Prophet. The special edition had been slipped in the middle of the normal one, and the first letter published was the one by the teachers.

  Most of the letters that had been in the paper had been complacent. The authors didn't care one way or the other about the big hoopla, and as far as most of them were concerned they didn't care exactly *who* was teaching their children, as long as they got a complete education. Many of them mentioned Snape's involvement in the Death Eaters as a reason, while many others that since they had managed to keep Remus a second year in a row, and third in total, as DADA professor, then there couldn't be that large of a problem.

  A few, though, disturbed Sirius. Carefully worded, he had to read between the lines to read the threat they carried. Most of these letters were not signed, and that worried Sirius more than the ones that were. They could deal with the people who had signed their names, but the ones who had refused – they could pose a real threat, both to the teachers they named (Remus and Sprout the most and himself twice) and to the students when classes resumed for the year. A couple of people expressed their desire to dismiss the entire board of governors, including a rash promise to get rid of all the teachers that had obviously been influenced by Albus Dumbledore.

  That disgusted Sirius the most. Dumbledore had been the reason Voldemort was defeated in the first place. Harry may have been the one who actually killed the thing, but the old wizard had been the one to organize the order, ensuring that they could be prepared for what they were up against. Dumbledore had also carried the heaviest burden. Sirius was sure that he blamed himself for the deaths of his friends and colleagues in the same way Harry felt the death of Cedric. It wasn't their fault, but it felt like it just the same.

  Knocking again, Sirius closed his eyes for a brief moment. He was debating whether or not he should just enter when the painting opened to reveal Harry in just a towel.

  "Wha – ? Sirius what it is?"

  Sirius closed his eyes, wishing that his godson was wearing more clothing. "Harry, could you and Remus hurry up and come to breakfast?"

  Harry blinked owlishly at the question and Sirius sighed. He knew the younger man wasn't a morning person, but this was really going too far. Then his gaze was distracted by the scarred over bite on his collarbone. The stark contrast between its white skin and his tan brought home that even if he had minded the relationship – not that he did, he rather liked the idea of the two of them being together – but that when the relationship came out there would be another large outcry. This time is would be by the hundreds of women, and quite a few men, who wanted to be the catch of Harry's life.

  "Give us five minutes, Siri," Remus called from out of sight. "Harry, close the door before you flash Maria again."

  Sirius held back a laugh as Harry flushed and closed the painting. He let it out when Maria, the lady in the picture whispered to him, "I certainly didn't mind that!" Thanking that Harry hadn't flashed him, Sirius made his way down to the Great Hall to await his friends' arrival.

######

  Harry frowned as he read the last page of letters again as the smirk faded. Sirius had been right about the ones on this page. He was surprised that the editors of the Prophet had actually printed one – especially since the author was outright threatening to do harm to several people, including Sprout and Dumbledore for allowing Remus, a known werewolf, and Sirius, who the author described as a vicious criminal no matter if the ministry pardoned him or not, to even teach there. He was tempted to hunt down the person, who had foolishly signed their name, but figured that it wasn't worth the bother.

  The ones that weren't signed... some of them sent chills down his spine. They reminded Harry of the things Draco had told him about his father, making him wonder how many of them were Death Eaters that had alluded Aurors and the order for the past year. One, though, was written in a familiar style, and it was starting to drive him up the wall trying to decipher just who could have written the blasted thing.

  He wasn't sure what to make of the rest of the letters they had to be wary of. Harry hoped that they would get the message he and the rest of the staff had sent in the letter printed in the special edition as well. Dumbledore's letter would also give a good indication of what they could expect if they tried to do anything to one of the teachers. He wished that he could make it quite clear to everyone that if somebody harmed Remus that Harry would take care of the problem. But, Remus had persuaded him that wouldn't be the best answer to them, even if he rather liked the idea of Harry being so protective of him.

  Finally he put everything to side, tired of trying to figure everything out. Remus was talking with Hooch about the upcoming Quidditch season and wouldn't be done for an hour, since Madam Hooch liked to talk about anything Quidditch. That would give him enough time to implement the idea he'd had a couple days ago.

******

  Remus stared at the room that was now officially both his and Harry's.

  "What's this for?" he asked Harry as he stepped through the door, making sure it was closed tight behind him.

  Harry smiled mischievously. "Don't tell me that you don't like it?"

  Remus shook his head. "I like it, but why?"

  "Do I need a reason?" Harry asked as moved from where he was standing next to the bed. He slunk over to Remus and reached around his neck, moving his face close to Remus'. "I just thought we needed a break from doing class work."

  Remus' eyes brightened as he wrapped his arms around Harry's waist. He looked around the room and was awed by the work Harry must have put into it.

  The walls were now a soft gold, the color of the sunset as it rose into a dusky purple ceiling, the faintest hint of stars beginning to shine. Candles hovered in various places, their soft light adding to the effect. But what drew his attention the most was the bed. This morning when he had left their rooms the bed had been in the same Gryffindor colors it had been all year. Now, though, the bedspread was a soft, dark blue, with sparkles strewn here and there, echoing the stars in the ceiling. He could see a soft sheen on the pillowcases, and Remus wondered if they were satin or silk.

  "So, do you like it?" Harry asked, rubbing his nose into the tender spot beneath Remus' ear.

  "No," Remus answered. When Harry started to pull back after tensing, he added, "I love it."

  Harry still pulled back and looked up into Remus' eyes and he was sucked in by the expression in those green orbs. They were mesmerizing, tempting him every time that he saw them.

  "Want to try it out?" Harry suggested, a quite lascivious leer in those eyes.

  Remus growled and pulled him close, aligning their bodies. Pushing his hips against his lover's, he let Harry feel his answer as both of them groaned softly. He slipped a hand to the first button of Harry's robe, eager to see the Quidditch sculpted body that he loved so much. Without so much as a kiss, he plucked the button and its mates rapidly, all the while pushing Harry towards the bed. Pushing the younger man onto the bed, Remus grinned as he laid on top of him.

  "What do you think?" he asked as he brushed his lips against Harry's.

  Harry moaned in response, sending a shiver down Remus' spine. He was thrilled by his lover's reactions, and each time they were together in this mood, he wanted to see what others he could pull out of him. Setting in to see what he could get tonight, Remus let his lips drift to Harry's ear.

  "I love you and want you," he breathed, nibbling on the soft skin under his lips.

  A breath in his ear let Remus know that Harry liked that. "Love you too, Remus, but if you don't get a move on it I can rethink that."

  Another growl escaped Remus as he pulled Harry's earlobe into his mouth, worrying it lightly with his teeth and tongue. "Aye, aye, Captain," he muttered as he started to pull their clothes off, eager to feel skin-to-skin contact.

******

  Harry stretched, feeling Remus' warm body close to his. Smiling, he turned over and traced his lover's features with his eyes. Still, something was pressing in the back of his mind and he wasn't sure what it was. Reluctant to get out of bed, he waited until the pressure grew bigger. Saddened that he would have to leave their bed, Harry slipped out of it and slipped into the shower. Coming back to get his clothes, he saw that Remus had shifted to lie where Harry had been, recovering the loss of warmth he had provided. Tugging on his shoes, Harry leaned over him and gave him a soft kiss on the cheek.

  Remus blinked once, sleepily, before yawning and sitting up. "What's going on?"

  Harry shrugged. "Something doesn't feel right," he said, sitting down on the edge of the bed. "I thought I'd go take a walk and try to figure it out."

  "Mm. Want me to join you?" the older man offered.

  He shook his head. "I won't take long. Besides, didn't you and Sirius plan to have breakfast in Hogsmeade this morning with the Weasleys about their store?"

  Remus smiled, and Harry was tempted to kiss it but restrained himself against doing so. "That's right. Sure you don't want to come?"

  "I'm sure," Harry answered. "I have to meet with Amos in an hour anyway about the combined classes we're planning to do in October."

  Remus nodded. "Have fun then," he said as he leaned over and gave Harry a quick kiss on the lips.

  Harry smiled. "As much fun with school as I can this early in the morning." Returning the kiss, he slid off the bed and made his way down towards the entrance hall. He just wanted to wander the halls for a bit, letting the castle guide his feet more than his brain would. He knew that it was sentient, having relied on it to keep him safe when needed that last year of the war.

  Twenty minutes later, after eating a quick breakfast with an excited Flitwick and a half-asleep Madam Pince, he was in the dungeons, and by the sound of it Sirius and Snape were up, judging by the sounds coming from the potions lab. Actually he wondered if they had even been to sleep last night as he passed the door. Deciding he didn't want to get in the middle of their argument if that was the case, he continued down the hallway towards the Slytherin exit to the greenhouses. As he went out the door, the pressure was back.

  Harry had almost forgotten what had disturbed him earlier, but he wanted to find out what it was. Setting his mind to it, the castle guided his feet towards the farthest greenhouse from the castle. As he got closer, a cold tingle crept down his neck and arms. Pulling out his wand, Harry cautiously made his way to the door, silently unlocking it after first casting an invisibility spell on himself. Pushing the door open, he stepped into the hot space, feeling slightly claustrophobic as he breathed in the damp air.

  Walking down the aisle and pausing at the back door, he pushed it open. Harry stopped as he saw a shoe hanging around the back corner of the greenhouse. Curious, he made his way to it and stopped when he saw it was attached to a foot – and a body.

******

  Sirius tried to catch his breath as he stepped into the infirmary. He had practically carried Snape from the potions lab with his chair, and while the wheels made it easy in the hallways, it was a bugger on the staircases. They had been discussing, well, arguing, over the potion they were almost done making before his appointment with the Weasleys when a house-elf had popped into the room saying that they were needed in the hospital wing.

  He caught sight of Harry, who was white and shaking as he sat in a chair in the waiting room.

  "Harry?"

  "Harry?" An out-of-breath Remus echoed Sirius' question as he skidded into the room, followed by Amos, Warrington and Sinistra.

  "What happened?"

  Sirius watched Harry take a shaky breath. "I – I found...."

  "What did you find, Potter?" Snape asked as he sat next to where Sirius stood.

  "Ms. Granger," answered Madam Pomfrey. The nurse shut the door behind her as she looked at the crowd gathered in front of her. "I couldn't do anything."

  Sirius and Remus raced to catch Harry as he slid out of the chair. Together they managed to support him even as he sagged between them. Concerned about his godson, Sirius looked over at Poppy. "What happened?"

  "I found her in the greenhouse," Harry said in a too-quiet voice that really worried Sirius. "Something was bothering me, and I let the castle guide me."

  Warrington snorted. "The castle?"

  Her question went ignored as Sprout entered the room. "Poppy?"

  The nurse shook her head before looking at Harry. "Why don't you two put him on one of the beds in the next room?" she asked Sirius and Remus. "I want to check on him after I talk to Flora."

  Nodding, Sirius gathered Harry in his arms as Remus drew a hand along the younger man's pale face. Following his friend, they carefully placed Harry on a bed, Remus covering him in a blanket as he started to shiver from shock.

  Five minutes later Poppy, Snape and Sprout came into the room, the other teachers having dispersed reluctantly without information. Poppy examined Harry as Sprout wrote quickly on a piece of parchment. Snape sat to one side, just behind Sirius. He wasn't sure why the other man was here, but Sirius was grateful for his presence. They would need a 'voice of reason' as Snape often put it.

  "I'm sending for Albus. I know that he just left on his vacation, but I think we have need of him," Sprout explained as she finished. An owl fluttered outside the window and she quickly tied the letter to its leg, sending it off to the south of Wales.

  Sirius nodded as he watched Poppy hand Harry a Pepper-Up potion. Remus held Harry's other hand, stroking it in a reassuring pattern. Harry quickly drank the potion as told. Once he had responded, Poppy nodded her head once. "I want to keep him here for a couple of hours to make sure he doesn't go back into shock."

  Remus looked like he wanted to protest but didn't. Sirius watched as he pulled a chair over and sat down in it, never letting go of Harry's hand.

  "Harry?" Sprout asked. "What happened?"

  Harry took a deep breath. It wasn't as shaky as earlier, but Sirius could tell he was still rattled. "I woke up this morning, and I didn't feel it at first but there was this... pressure, I guess. I thought I'd take a walk, so I got ready and told Remy. After I had breakfast I made my way to the dungeon." He threw a look at Sirius and Snape, where they stood to his right. "You two were arguing, so I thought I wouldn't interrupt."

  Sirius had half-expected to see a humorous glint in Harry's green eyes when he said this, but they were dull even after the Pepper-Up potion.

  "When I got near the Slytherin dungeon there was the pressure again, so I let the castle lead me."

  Sprout nodded. "I thought I felt something this morning, but you obviously felt it stronger."

  Harry looked blank for a second after she stopped talking, and Sirius felt terrible about whatever he saw.

  "It led me to Greenhouse Four, which I thought was strange since I was to meet Amos in One, but when I got there the pressure was awful. It was cold." He shivered in remembrance before continuing in a wooden, stilted voice. "I made myself invisible and walked through the building and saw something when I opened the back door. It looked like a shoe and I went over to it. It – it had a foot in it. Oh god.... Mione."

  Remus pulled Harry into his arms as he stood. Sirius watched as two tears made their way down his godson's cheeks. It was strange to see him cry. He hadn't cried before this.

  "I told her that it was fine with me that she hated me," Harry sobbed into Remus' chest.

  Sirius looked at Poppy, who nodded and pulled a potion from one of the shelves in her office next door. Handing it to Remus, he had Harry drinking it, sending him to a dreamless sleep.

  "Harry brought her in here in his arms," Poppy began. "There... there was blood all over." She stopped and ran a shaky hand over her face. "I never saw anything like it, even during the war."

  Sprout laid a gentle hand on her arm. "What happened, Poppy?"

  "She was beaten and sexually assaulted," the nurse told them. "It was very brutal, judging by the cuts and bruises on her. The... The cause of death was blood loss, but it looked like whomever did this tried to strangle her. It also looks like she was tied up. Her wrists – they're rubbed raw."

  "Oh, Merlin," Sirius breathed. He shot a glance over to Harry, who Remus held tight even as he slept. _Why would anyone want to do that to her?_

**********

AN: I'm sorry to anyone who liked Hermione for killing her off! *runs away and hides*. Next chapter is going to deal with Harry's – and Ron's – reactions to it. I don't think Harry is up to doing anything at the moment.


	11. Chapter 11

AN: More angst... have a tissue handy.

******

******

Chapter 11

  Harry woke up disoriented. He could feel Remus' arms around him, but the last he knew he had been running to the hospital wing....

  _Mione!_

  Jerking out of the safety of his lover's arms, Harry sat up and looked around the white walls of the infirmary.

  "Harry?"

  He looked back at Remus and found sad, golden eyes watching him.

  "Mione... what happened?"

  "Oh, Harry," Remus breathed. He sat up and wrapped his arms around Harry.

  It hit him all of a sudden and his heart stopped for a moment. "Is... is she dead?"

  Remus nodded.

  Closing his eyes, Harry fought the tears that were welling up. _Why had this happened? What had happened?_ He was so confused. When he had woken up that morning he had felt so content. Now, he didn't know what he was supposed to feel. Was he supposed to be empty? Scared? Sad? What about Ron? Or Remus? Sirius?

  "Harry?"

  He didn't opened his eyes as he buried his face in Remus' neck. "Why?" he whispered in a choked voice. "I – I didn't get to say I loved her."

  "Shh," Remus whispered. Harry felt his hands run through his hair. "She knew, Harry. She knew."

  "What if she didn't?" Harry half-cried. "I... told her...."

  "I know, Harry."

  Harry didn't say anything. Instead he tried to burrow into Remus' skin as the tears finally escaped.

******

  Sirius eyed the owl. He knew that it was Pig, but he didn't want to read the letter attached to its leg. It would ask why he and Remus hadn't shown up an hour ago, and was there a problem?

  What could he say to answer that?

  "Black, read the damn letter and write them that they are needed here immediately," Snape's voice penetrated his thoughts.

  Mentally shaking off the sadness that had accompanied the last thought, he steeled himself and opened the note. Hurriedly writing a quick note in return, he watched as Pig took to the sky once more. He wanted to go back to the infirmary and wait for Harry to wake up, wanted to comfort him and Remus, but Snape had pulled him away and dragged him to the dungeons.

  "Why did we come down here?" he eventually asked.

  "We need to make a couple of potions," Snape said as he wheeled over to the silver cauldron.

  "What!? Is that your answer to everything? Make a potion?" Sirius snapped at him.

  "Black. We will be making two potions. One can determine whether there is any semen present and the other will determine if it is from a wizard or Muggle."

  Sirius blinked. "Oh," he said in a small voice. Maybe it was a good thing that Snape had made him come down here. It would keep his mind occupied, and he'd be able to help. "Then, let's get started."

  Half an hour later they had bottled up the second potion and were on their way to the hospital wing. They were almost there when a strange roar filled the castle. Sprinting, Sirius pushed Snape down the last hallway to find the three youngest Weasleys, Ron sprawled out on the floor unconscious.

  He was glad that Snape had the presence of mind to have been hanging onto the potions and handing them to Poppy as soon as they arrived. Sirius' attention had been drawn to Harry's stark figure as he stood in the doorway to the room where he'd been, Remus directly behind him.

  "What!?" Fred Weasley was yelling at Poppy. "She can't be!"

  "There's gotta be a mistake," George was saying as he bent over his brother.

  Snape silenced them with one glare. "Albus should be arriving soon," he announced after talking with Sprout, who had stayed behind to talk with the nurse. "Now. Messrs. Weasley, pick up your brother and carry him to the room Potter is in."

  The twins obeyed the command. Sirius wasn't sure if it was shock or his being their former teacher that directed the three Weasleys into the other room.

  Crossing over to Harry and Remus, he laid a hand on his godson's shoulder. "Harry?"

  He suddenly found his arms full as the younger man wrapped his arms around Sirius' neck. Looking at Remus, he saw the sad look in his friend's golden eyes. Nodding, he picked Harry up and carried him back to the bed he'd been using. Setting him down, Sirius sat on one side as Remus sat down on the other, each of them half-hugging Harry.

  There they waited for another fifteen minutes before Dumbledore strode into the infirmary. Sirius was shocked at the change that the man had undergone. The blue eyes were dull like Harry's were, even as he tried to give a reassuring smile to Sprout.

  "Did you alert the Ministry?" he was asking. At her nod, he directed several questions to her and Poppy.

  Sirius couldn't hear their conversations, as they were speaking in low voices. Rather than concentrating on them, he comforted Harry, who every once in a while gave a shudder. He hadn't cried again, but the tracks that stained his cheeks told Sirius that he had been.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

  Remus sucked in a breath as Dumbledore shooed out the last of the St. Mungo's officials. The autopsy report would be ready in a couple of days, since the results of the tests needed to time to sit. In the meantime, they would have to wait. He was glad that the owl to Dumbledore had been a fast one. The castle had seemed to know time was of the essence, since it had sent the fastest owl in the owlery to Sprout when she needed it.

  Beside him, Harry had fallen into a natural sleep. The younger man was exhausted. He'd had to repeat his story three times before Remus and Sirius had managed to get the Ministry officials that had tagged along with the ones from St. Mungo's to leave him alone. The first time had been the hardest, since Ron had just woken up. The red head had become very distraught, so much that Poppy had dosed him with Draught of Living Death to make sure his body could adjust to the mental shock. Snape and Dumbledore had approved the action, even though several of the officials hadn't. Sprout had deferred to the two men and nurse, stating that they knew the potion better than she.

  The twins were quiet as they waited for the rest of their family to arrive. With them would be Hermione's parents, Arthur and Molly picking them up on the way to Hogwarts. They would be flooing to the Three Broomsticks, and a special charm would be cast over them to allow them to see Hogwarts as it really was. In the back of his mind, Remus wished that this hadn't been the first time they would see the school their daughter had attended for the last seven years.

  On the other side of Harry, Sirius was quietly talking to Snape. Together the two of them had described the potions they had made to the officials, but now they were conversing quite civilly. Any other time, Remus would have questioned it, but right now his mind was occupied with how he was going to help Harry with this.

  This reminded him of the Halloween that had changed the entire wizarding world. He'd met up with Dumbledore two days later and had been devastated by the news. Remus hadn't noticed anything different the day before, recovering from his change as he'd been. It had been a particularly brutal month, the full moon had created strong, high tides, which made the change all that much worse. When the news had come, he'd had to spend almost a month with Poppy. He'd been mentally drained and should have gone to St. Mungo's, but with his lycanthropy he wouldn't have been admitted. Other than Dumbledore and Poppy's help, he'd had no one to lean on. Peter was supposedly dead by Sirius' hand, who was thrown into Azkaban.

  He would make sure that Harry had the support he'd been given, scarce as it had been. Remus would make it happen.

  A fluttering at the window broke his thoughts. It had also disturbed the twins. Standing, Fred had let the tawny owl in. Tied to its leg were two letters, which the red head held gingerly.

  "They're for Ron and Harry."

  Remus held his breath even as Sirius quickly stood up. Fred handed the letters to Sirius, who looked them over. "It looks like Hermione's writing," he whispered. He watched as Sirius sent a sad look at Harry, who rested in Remus' arms. "Should we wake him?"

  Shaking his head, Remus rested his chin on Harry's head. "Let him sleep for a little bit."

******

  Harry sighed, the air seeming to come from deep within him. In his hands he held a letter, addressed to him in Hermione's neat cursive. A large part of him didn't want to open it. He didn't want to know what it said.

  He knew that Remus and Sirius were waiting for him to read it, but he wasn't sure he could do it. Looking up, he saw both sadness and encouragement in Remus' eyes, while Sirius' held sadness and curiosity. Fortified by their looks, he carefully slit the wax seal and opened it.

Dear Harry,

I am sincerely sorry that I blew up at you that day. I've come to realize that there are some things that I have yet to learn. You are one of my best friends, and I have always loved you as the brother I never had.

I hope that you haven't been too worried about me. I know that I should have gone to my parents, but I needed to be alone for a while to think things through. I've been staying in a nice, little cottage here in Brighton, along the ocean. Seeing the water helped calm me, while making me realized that what I've done and said has threatened to wash away like the sand. You and Ron have stood by me for seven years, and yet I was willing to throw it all away because I was scared. I hope you're laughing, Harry, that I, Hermione the Fearless (yes I heard Ron's nickname for me) am scared.

All of a sudden I was being thrust out into the world from my secure little niche. I was going from best of the class to a little fish in a big pond (you'll have to explain that expression to Ron – I just realized I used that in his letter as well). I was jealous of you, Harry, for getting to stay at Hogwarts when that all I wanted. But, it wasn't. After the fight with you at Ron and my engagement party added to that – I don't blame you for that at all. Please, Harry, believe me when I say that.

Last summer I spent a lot of time in church, trying to find answers to questions that came up during the war. I couldn't find them in the library at Hogwarts, which scared me, so I thought that I would be able to find them there. It confused me, and you know how much I don't like that, so I kept on spending more and more time there. One day, there was a huge debate on homosexuality, and I found myself agreeing with their points. I discounted, though, everything they had said the week before on witchcraft and its swiftly climbing rate in England.

When you said you were in love with Remus, it frightened me. Here I had been a friend with you for seven years, and all of a sudden I had no clue who you were. I had thought that you had told me everything outside of everything about the order. Ron said that you didn't tell him until our last day at Hogwarts, but I didn't believe him until I thought everything over. Aside from Ron, you were the one I felt like I knew and then everything changed.

Harry, I wish I could change these past weeks, but I've come to realize I can't. But I can say things that express what I feel now, what I know now. I miss you, miss talking to you, even if it is about Quidditch. I want to listen to you talk about Remus.

Please, if you're willing to forgive me, will you let me know if we can talk? I'm hoping that you will, and maybe Ron will forgive me as well. The two of you can come to where I am or I can meet you in Diagon Alley if you want.

Love,

Your friend always,

Hermione Granger

  Harry set the letter down, feeling a river of tears pour out of his eyes. He could feel barely Remus next to him, rubbing his hand gently over his back.

  _Why hadn't the letter come earlier?_ If it had come even the day before, maybe this wouldn't have happened. Dimly he remembered Poppy saying that it had happened the night before, that whatever had happened had been done within three hours of her death and she had died sometime around six that morning behind the greenhouse. He wished he'd paid more attention to Dumbledore's theory of why she – or whoever did this – apparated to that section of the wards, where they were the closest to the castle of any.

  "Harry? You okay?"

  He lifted his eyes to Remus and found the other man's cheeks had a couple of tears racing down them. Raising a hand, Harry cupped his cheek for a moment before brushing them under his eyes, wiping away the tears. "No. I think it'll take a while."

  Remus nodded as he pulled Harry into his arms. Sighing, he let himself rest against the warm chest. He felt so tired, exhausted by the day's events.

******

  Remus listened with half an ear as Sprout talked about Hermione's autopsy report. Next to him Harry was tense, and it was all Remus could do to not pull him into his arms. But they were in the middle of a staff meeting, discussing – as if a discussion could make them feel better about her death – what they could do for Hermione's parents, who were devastated by their only child's death.

  The report had shown that whoever had raped her was a wizard, the semen showing up giving off traces of magical energy. There had been blood and skin underneath her nails – obviously she had put up a fight before she had been bound. But what had shocked them was the 'vision of death' charm that had shown who had done this. The charm had been invented to be used during the war by Flitwick to prove Voldemort's existence to a reluctant Ministry and an ignorant Fudge. It would show the last face she saw before her death, and what it showed was impossible – Lucius Malfoy.

  That brought up the question: who was it that Draco killed almost twenty months ago in Hogsmeade? Polyjuice Potion had been used at some point, and while it was possible to have hair samples last as long as it had been since Lucius' death, the potion couldn't be made with a sample from a dead person. They had to be living at the time the sample was given. Both Sirius and Snape had agreed on that point.

  Finally the meeting was over, allowing Remus to take Harry back to their rooms. The younger man was slowly recovering, but Remus could tell it would take a long time for a complete one. He had read the letter Hermione had sent, and while he was glad that she realized what Harry meant to her, he wished she had been able to say it in person.

  Settling Harry into bed, Remus lay next to him, holding him close as they rested. Tomorrow would be the funeral, and they would need all of their strength to get through it.

******

  Sirius' eyes burned as he watched Ron and Harry stand next to each other. He wished there was some way he could change the last four days, but he couldn't. Now he had to watch the young man he had come to love as his own child bury one of his best friends. Finally he couldn't take anymore and turned away, walking a short distance away from the gravesite. He didn't look back, even as he heard people begin to leave twenty minutes later, instead choosing to watch the trees sway in the mid August breeze.

  He waited a couple more minutes before he drew his eyes away from the weeping willow that stood at the edge of the river that swept along the back of the cemetery. Sirius was startled when he found Snape sitting next to him. More and more often over the last few days the other man had been nearby, and while he was glad for him being around, it kind of creeped him out.

  "Sirius..."

  Dark brown eyes met black. Snape looked back at him, a neutral expression on his face. But his eyes... they told a much different story. Suddenly Sirius was brought to mind the moment Snape had realized Draco had been injured in the attack on Hogsmeade. He hadn't thought that Snape would miss Hermione. After all, the man had called her a Gryffindor know-it-all many times. But now, Sirius knew how much the war had affected the other man.

  If Snape was willing to offer comfort, even when they had their difference, he wanted to return it. Sirius knew he wouldn't have been able to handle that first day if Snape hadn't pulled him together enough to make those potions.

  "Severus..." That was as good a start as any.

**********

AN: I am never writing a chapter like this again... It took way too much out of me, and my sister broke down reading it.

It'll be a couple of days before I feel like writing again, so it may be up to a week before the next chapter comes out.


	12. Chapter 12

******

******

Chapter 12

  Remus made sure that he was holding Harry's hand as they touched the PortKey. Even though Harry didn't like them, he agreed that he wasn't in the best shape to apparate. The funeral had taken a lot out of him, emotionally and physically. The younger man hadn't left his side but once to give Hermione's mother a hug. The rest of the time, Ron and Harry had stood still, Remus on one side, and Molly on the other.

  Afterwards, Hermione's parents had talked quietly to the two, inviting them to come over. They would need the help to go through her things, since they didn't understand most of the things she had collected since beginning Hogwarts. While they had been discussing that, Remus had noticed Sirius talking to Snape. It was no longer as shocking to see such a scene, but, like now, it was surprising that neither of them were arguing. Eventually the two had made their way back, Sirius volunteering to take the Grangers back home with Fred and George.

  Once they were back at Hogwarts, Remus and Harry made their way back to their rooms. Getting him ready for bed, Remus watched as Harry slowly drifted off. It had been a difficult four days since that day in the infirmary. Many times Remus had felt like he wasn't helping, but Harry had let him know that just by being there he was.

  He was glad for that, remembering the difficulty he'd had after *that* Halloween. His friends had been ripped from him and his entire world turned upside-down. This was a little different, but Remus knew that Harry would react much different than he had. And yet it was the same. Remus had been trapped by his curse, and it wasn't until he'd come to Hogwarts that he'd found true friends. Harry's upbringing by the Dursleys had left him emotionally scarred and isolated. Coming to Hogwarts had allowed him to grow to be well rounded emotionally, even under the strain of having Voldemort on the loose.

  The difference was the way Harry had been.... He couldn't say that he had been fighting with Hermione, but they hadn't exactly been acting like the friends they were. Remus, while growing apart from his friends under the threat of war, had been torn by the 'betrayal' by Sirius.

  Checking on Harry and making sure he was still sleeping, he got ready for bed himself, remembering the awful time he and Sirius had gone through when the Animagus had shown up on Remus' doorstep after Voldemort's revival. The few letters they had exchanged before then hadn't mentioned anything about *that* Halloween. Instead, they had discussed Harry, Sirius being eager for news on his godson. But when they were finally face to face, the fireworks had flown. Remus had been trying to work through his pain of hearing that he hadn't been trusted because he was a werewolf. It had been hard for him to believe that the friends he'd had for those ten years had thought he was the one who had turned to Voldemort instead of Peter. Remus had spent all that summer and most of the fall cursing Sirius, and even James, for doubting his loyalty to them and the order, just because he was a Dark creature.

  The two of them had fought as Remus tried to understand and forgive Sirius for all that hurt. It had been horrible, even as he realized that Sirius had already been doing penance for his mistakes. The other man had spent twelve years haunted by the Dementors, while Remus had only ghosts.

  Eventually they had come to an understanding, knowing that they would have to get over all the past hurts to fight their enemy. Remus knew that their friendship was stronger now than it had ever been when they were younger. United in both their concern over Harry – although it was a platonic, even parental concern then for Remus – and their willingness to fight, they had discovered that they bonded closer when things were dark. They now knew how to protect each other and to give emotional support that they hadn't before realized was needed.

  Pulling Harry into his arms, he hoped that Sirius was up to helping Harry start living again. School would be starting in a few days, and all of them needed to be on top of things to handle the students. Wishing that life wouldn't be as painful as it really was, Remus fell asleep.

******

  The numbness that Harry had been feeling was slowly fading, turning into a growing pit of nervousness deep within his stomach. On top of that he felt lonely, as Remus was waiting for the first years in the room that he himself had been waiting in eight years ago. He watched as the older students filed their way into the Great Hall, many of them staring up at the Teacher's table. Even though he was sure that most of them knew he was the new Transfiguration instructor, there was an awful lot of pointing going on.

  On the other side of Remus' empty seat, Sirius was grinning back at various students, watching their eyes slide away. Harry was glad for the distraction, watching his godfather's rueful looks as half the girls couldn't decide if they should throw themselves at him or run from the pardoned ex-convict. At least that was sort of good, considering none of those girls had a chance, judging by the looks Sirius had been throwing at his former potions professor.

  That was a strange development – that the two men could even be friends, let alone... more. Harry was entirely sure that neither of the two knew what was going on, but he had been startled when Remus had pointed it out at the staff meeting they'd had this morning.

  All of them had been discussing the latest article in The Daily Prophet – Harry more than the others, since the headline basically stated that he was 'having relations with a former teacher.' Sirius had thought it funny, laughing at both his godson and best friend's red faces and had ended up leaning against Snape, who had been invited to the meeting. The former head of Slytherin would be at the castle for the first two months, helping Warrington find her way in her duties, while helping Sirius continue their work on advanced potions.

  Most of the professors didn't mind the publicity – seeing as how no parent had pulled their children out of the school based on the structural changes that had been announced at the end of the previous school year. A few, however, had problems with the fact that two of their members were living together. Sprout had no problem with the situation, and backed by Dumbledore, Harry and Remus hadn't been given a tough time.

  After that they had talked about the Ministry's investigation into Hermione's murder. Harry hid his shudder at the thought, just as he did every time he thought about what had happened to his best friend. The word seemed so cold and lifeless – as if her life hadn't been worth as much as it had. The Ministry workers would be at the castle for a few more days, finishing up their interviews. Harry's had been the first, and it had been horrible. The only reason why he had gotten through it was the knowledge that they needed every bit of information they could gather to catch whoever did this to Hermione.

  Most of them had dismissed the idea that it was Lucius Malfoy, but between Harry, Remus, Sirius, and Snape, they had a good idea that it was he. He was devious enough to have given someone else Polyjuice Potion and told them to target his son. After all, he would be legally dead and able to do as he pleased. The four of them, though, vowed to keep an eye on the situation. Malfoy was intelligent enough to use the chaos caused by the attack on Hermione to his advantage – and they would be watching to see if he would press it.

  Since the Ministry had come, Ron had left as soon as possible, but was scheduled to come back tomorrow. He was coming to help Harry talk to the seventh years for the first couple of classes. Harry had made it a point that it had to be Ron rather than any of his brothers. He was determined to help his best friend and to get him interested in the idea that he could help the investigation along.

  A noise from the back of the hall signaled the arrival of Remus and the first years. Harry shot a quick smile at his lover before sitting back to watch the nervous eleven-year-olds. Tonight was not a night to think of such serious things. Instead, he would use the time during the feast to remember all the times he, Ron, and Hermione had sat at the Gryffindor table, talking and arguing about everything and nothing.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

  Harry sucked in a deep breath, trying to recover the oxygen he'd been keeping from his lungs. His first class had gone very well. He would have to remember to thank Colin for calming the students down after the large fight several of them had gotten into over the betting pool half way through class.

  Harry had forgotten all about the pool. With more serious matters on his mind, he had been surprised when Colin had approached him before the first class to talk about it. Together, the two of them had devised a way to drain the pool as it were, and disband the group of betting students.

  It was a very good thing that most of those who had participated in the pool had already graduated – namely Seamus. One of the things Colin had brought it was a letter, and money, from the newly graduated Gryffindor, proclaiming Colin the winner of that last pool where they had been trying to find out just who Harry was taking to the 'graduation' party.

  "What is this, Colin?" he had asked, eyeing the piece of parchment in the younger boy's hand.

  Colin's face lit up with a smile. "I won, Harry! Oops, sorry."

  Harry waved it off. He had the feeling that many of his friends would have the same problem as Colin in calling him Harry instead of Professor like they should. "Won what?"

  The seventh year's smile turned sheepish. "The pool about your date at the party." The smile suddenly dropped off his face, Colin seeming to sense the hurt that Harry felt at the reminder.

  Mentally shaking his head, Harry pulled his thoughts away from the hurt to the matter at hand. "Did you just guess?" he asked, curious to find out just what exactly Colin had known.

  Colin smiled. "No," he said, slyly. He started to laugh at the incredulous look on Harry's face. "The last couple of months you were mooning over him pretty awful, Harry... Professor."

  Harry brushed it off again, while trying to hold back the blush that threatened to erupt across his cheeks. He hadn't thought he had been *that* obvious, especially since most of his classmates had been shocked when he had grabbed Remus' hand at the party before they had apparated back to Hogsmeade. "But, how...? I didn't think anybody knew."

  The seventh year shrugged his shoulders. "A couple of pictures, but they didn't show Professor Lupin, so I didn't get it right away. It was only after Seamus announced that the pool would have to change that I figured it out."

  Harry blushed then. "Oh." He made a mental note to question Seamus _very_ thoroughly about his interest in Harry's sex life.

  Colin gave a quick smile as he took a step back. "I won't say anything, so don't worry about it. Besides, I happen to know that you wouldn't have done anything while in school."

  He was right. Other than those few kisses that first day, Harry and Remus hadn't done anything physically with each other until Harry was no longer an official student of Remus'. Smiling at Colin, he indicated that it was time for class to start.

  And the end of the day, he sat down heavily into the couch in his and Remus' rooms and heaved a sigh of relief.

  "That bad?" Remus asked as he sat down next to him.

  Harry shook his head. "Other than they kept on forgetting to call me Professor, it wasn't that bad." He leaned into Remus' shoulder. "Oh. Colin had something interesting from Seamus. Seems that he won the pool about just who I was bringing to the party."

  He felt Remus tense for a half-second before he wrapped an arm around Harry's shoulders. "Did he say anything?"

  Harry again shook his head. He felt a relieved sigh pass through Remus' body and he pressed deeper into his side. It felt good just to be close to him like this after the day's stress.

  "Are you going to see Draco tomorrow?" Remus asked after a while.

  Nodding, Harry sat up slightly. "Yeah. With everything that's going on, I think I'll need to talk to him just as much as he needs company."

  Remus gave a soft smile that made Harry's heart twitch. He was very thankful that he had Remus to help him. Wrapping his arms around Remus' waist, he pulled himself on the other man's lap and buried his face into his neck.

  "Love you."

  "Love you, too," came the reply as Remus touched his lips to Harry's temple.

******

  Sirius breathed a sigh of relief. It was Friday, and as much as he had discovered he loved teaching, he really needed the weekend to recuperate. In the month that school had been in session, he had found that there were several students that were as enthusiastic – Harry's word for it – as he was about potions.

  A grin touched his lips as he remembered Severus' grudging compliment on teaching. It hadn't been in the words – as if anything about teaching methods from the potions master would count as a true compliment other than a left-handed one – but in his tone. Sirius was glad that the other man hadn't thought about how he could have changed his methods, but instead had pointed out several things that he thought hadn't caused any problems.

  Once seated in the Great Hall next to Severus, he dug into dinner, content to listen to Harry talk about what they had done in class with Remus. He smiled as he remembered James talking the same way about transfiguration, especially when they had been working on their animagi transformations. James had been the one who had figured out the last step, and, much like his father, Harry had pretty much figured it out on his own.

  Now it turned out that Harry was a natural teacher. Once he had gotten over his shyness, and trepidation at teaching his peers, Transfigurations had become a popular class. Sirius was very proud of his godson, and even if he wished James could see what his son had grown up to accomplish, he knew that he wouldn't ever be able to change the past. For once he was happy about that. Several times over the last couple of years he had found himself wishing he could go back to that point where he suggested Wormtail as James and Lily's Secret Keeper. Twelve years in Azkaban, and another two and a half on the run hadn't been good for his health, but it was only lately that he had learned that those years had taught him more than he would have learned if he'd been free.

  He was no longer the reckless teenager that had almost killed a fellow student. Now he could admit he actually liked to talk to Severus, instead of wanting to kill him. Sirius had relived that incident more times than he would be able to count, and though he hadn't felt particularly guilty about it, when he and Severus had to make peace after the third task of the Tri-Wizard Tournament, he'd known that they would have to talk about it sometime.

  That time had come over this past summer, a couple of days after Hermione's funeral. The two of them had been working on a new potion Madam Pomfrey had suggested they make for the infirmary when Severus had asked him about why he had done it. In the middle of their fighting, Sirius had let Severus know he'd been hurt by what the Slytherin had been saying about him. Sirius had taken all those years' worth of insults and taunting and had finally had enough. He had just wanted to scare the other boy, but in the end it had hurt him as well.

  "Hey, Sirius?"

  He turned to see his godson standing in the door. A smile forming on his face, he stood and made his way over to him. "What's up?" he asked as they made their way down the hall.

  "Nothing. I just thought that you would like some company tonight?"

  Sirius looked at his godson, starting to wonder what he was talking about. "What about Remus?"

  Harry laughed. "I can't spend time with you?"

  The older wizard grinned. "Why would you want to spend time with me when you have Remus?"

  Harry shook his head. "I am not going to answer that. I just wanted to talk to you tonight, and it has nothing to do with Remus or Severus or anything like that. I just wanted to spend time with you."

  Sirius felt a soft smile touch his face, his spirit lightening from the stress of the week. "I think we can arrange that," he said, even as he wondered just why Harry had brought up Severus.

  An hour later they were making their way to Sirius' quarters, both of them intent on a friendly chess match when Poppy came running breathlessly down the hall towards them.

  "Harry!" she shouted, trying to catch her breath once she was up to them. "It's Draco!"

  "What?" Harry's alarmed voice cut through Sirius' shock at Poppy's sudden appearance.

  "He's awake!" 

  "What?" Sirius asked, as he and Harry exchanged a shocked look before running towards the hospital wing, Poppy close behind them.

**********

AN: My apologies for this being much later than I thought it would be. The not-writing anti-muse™ (patent pending) bit me, making this chapter seem like it was taking forever to shape up. I'm not sure when the next chapter will be up, considering the anti-muse is trying to camp on my front porch. I'll try my hardest to get it out soon!

The Red Dragons Order: Thanks! About Duo – sorry if I confused you. I've been trying to think about just who, exactly, Seamus is like. And Duo – well, I think it's best to describe him as actually being two people. Not mentally, it's just that he acts in certain ways around certain people. Btw, there's a good story called Firefly Tides by Cherry Stain, http://www.fanfiction.net/read.php?storyid=913593, where Harry is actually Duo, and is pretty close to how I would describe Duo. Seamus is much like Harry, and that they have a much darker side than their fellow Gryffindors – it's just that they don't choose to show it. Seamus hides behind his friendliness and Harry behind his shyness.

xx: Brighton! I just put a B – there and had my sister put in a city, since I couldn't remember which one it was. I guess we both picked the wrong one. I do live in Bath, but it's in the states. Forgive my ignorance of world geography! It's fixed now. I couldn't let Harry go through anymore hurt. As it is he feels guilty about the entire second war with Voldemort. Not even loving Remus would pull him from that depression.

grola: Thanks!

Mystica: Thanks for pumping up my ego! Hermione just didn't want to see that Harry was a lot different from what she thought he was. A part of me feels that she always secretly liked him, and finding out he would rather be with a man set off these feelings, rather than a deep hatred of him being gay. Charlie's being with his partner just exacerbated the problem, and Hermione, rather than facing it like she normally would have, ran away instead of dealing with it. Taking time to be by herself let her see that even she was different than she thought she was. Hermione's death, on the other hand, will have great consequences on both Harry and Ron. Ron – war changes people (especially seeing as how Sirius and Severus are starting to feel about each other that they wouldn't have a few years earlier), and once he learned the danger that Harry was in just by *breathing,* it made him realize that instead of being jealous he should help his friend with all that he could give.

Them going back to war... I can't do that. This is just a one-man show – besides, I can't write action (as I've learned most painfully). Lucius really can't get a hold of any of the free Death Eaters, since they think he's dead as well. And if they're smart enough to stay a couple of steps ahead of both the Ministry and the Order, I think it's safe to say they'll stay clear of Malfoy Sr.

saavik: you'll see just how important Draco is next chapter.

MountainDewChika: Lucius – I couldn't agree more. That first sighting Harry had of him in CoS sent chills down my spine, and considering he was right up there with Voldemort makes him very dangerous.

wingsprite: Thanks!


	13. Chapter 13

******

******

Chapter 13

  Harry took deep breaths through his nose, trying to catch his breath. He and Sirius had raced to the infirmary to see if what Poppy had said was true. When they got there, they discovered that Severus, Remus, and Dumbledore were already there.

  "Remus?" he asked as he went to stand by his lover. "Is it true?"

  Remus nodded and laid a gentle hand on Harry's shoulder. "He's fighting to stay conscious, and Poppy isn't sure if she'll be able to do any tests tonight, but it looks like he might recover."

  "We'll see," Snape countered from where he sat off to one side.

  Harry looked over to where his chair was placed and noticed that Sirius had gone to stand by him. Raising an eyebrow and looking between them and Remus, he shot a sly smile at his lover before turning his attention to the former Headmaster.

  Poppy finally came through the door, followed by Sprout and Warrington and waited until everyone was seated before telling them what was happening.

  "He recognized me, but was having a hard time understanding what I was saying. It may be because of how long he was in the coma, or it may be the result of the curse that hit him. Whichever is was, I'll be testing for tomorrow. For now, though, he's in the first natural sleep for the first time in twenty months. It is still possible that he may slip into another coma, but we should be hopeful that this won't happen."

  "When can we see him?" Harry asked after everyone had time to digest the news.

  "No sooner than a couple of days from now. I want to be sure that he'll be able to take the stress of visitors." Poppy turned to Sirius and Severus. "I'll need a couple of potions to help get him back up to the nutritional standards he should be at. It'll be likely that he won't be able to handle solid foods for a while, and even with a liquid diet, it's going to take some time to adjust back to his normal health."

  "What about his schooling?" Severus asked. Warrington looked at him with a brief, irritated glance before turning back to Poppy with only Harry noticing as Severus went on. "It may be a while before he's able to get back into the school routine, but will we be able to help him in his studies while he recovers?"

  Poppy nodded. "Indeed, I think that will be good for him. His body has taken a hard hit and the stimuli will be good for him."

  The discussion continued for another half an hour before all those present split up.

  "Did you still want that chess game, Sirius?" Harry asked as they left the infirmary.

  Sirius shook his head. "How about tomorrow? I don't think that you'll be able to concentrate on a game right now." He turned to Remus, who was just leaving the infirmary with Severus. "Remy? Think I can borrow Harry tomorrow night?"

  Harry let out an exasperated sigh as Remus replied, "I'm not his keeper, Sirius. Besides, a night to myself sounds kind of good." He winked at Harry, letting him know he was kidding.

  "Sure, whatever you say," Sirius said. He tossed them both a grin and waved at them before taking the few steps between him and Severus. "So, when do you want to work on what Poppy needs?"

  "We need the list first, Sirius," Severus said as the two rounded a corner, leaving Harry and Remus alone in the corridor.

  Harry shook his head. "Is that weird to see or is it just me?" he asked as he took Remus' hand.

  Remus smiled. "It's not just you. Frankly, it's a little scary to see that."

  Harry laughed. "I should go owl Ron about Draco waking up," he said as the two of them began the trek back to their rooms. "I think he'll want to know."

  "It's strange to think about Ron wanting to know about Draco. Not as strange as Sirius and Severus talking civilly, but still odd, even here at Hogwarts."

  "Mm. I agree."

  Remus squeezed Harry's hand. "Shall we be off to the owlery?"

  Harry laughed. "Yes. I'm sure Hedwig wouldn't mind the trip – as long as Pig stays out of the way when she gets there."

  "That reminds me," Remus began. "When does his training start?"

  "In another week." Harry held the door leading to the owlery open for the two of them and they began climbing the stairs. "He and Seamus will be sharing rooms for the first couple of months before they're sent on their internships."

  "Maybe it will help him, then, learning his new job," Remus said as they paused at the top of the stairs.

  "I hope so," Harry agreed. "I just hope he doesn't get halfway through before he sets off after Lucius."

******

  The Halloween Feast was going strong as Sirius looked out over the students. He couldn't quite share in their happiness and enthusiasm. In fact, he was very disappointed that Severus would be leaving shortly. It was strange how they'd grown so close since their vacation on the island.

  The two of them had developed a good working relationship, building that on their strengthening of their personal one. Sirius wasn't quite sure just when the two of them had stopped being enemies and starting being friends, but he rather liked it the way it was now. He just wished that they could have done all this a lot sooner, but he had learned that wishing for the impossible just made it all that much harder.

  Together, they had created several new potions that would help the doctors in St. Mungo's, who often still dealt with the repercussions from the second war with Voldemort. Severus would be continuing their research there, both to help the doctors there, and to also recover from his own injuries. Sirius was worried about him, as he often complained about sharp tingling in his lower back. Poppy hadn't known what to do about it, as her training hadn't been that advanced in spinal injuries.

  With Severus leaving, Sirius was also starting to feel alone again. Since Severus had announced his moving to the wizarding hospital in London, every time he looked at him or Harry or Remus made him feel isolated from them. Once his friend was gone he would have to spend more time on his own – he wouldn't intrude on Remus and Harry's time with each other, and taking care of school business didn't take up much of his time.

  He looked over at Severus, who was in a deep conversation with Poppy, the two of them discussing Draco's recovery. Sirius knew that the other man had been called down to the hospital wing to help Draco understand what was going on. The boy hadn't understood just how much time had passed, or would be disoriented from it. At times like these, as Draco's former head of house, Snape would be needed to talk to him. The next morning, Sirius would find Severus exhausted from those meetings. While he wanted to take away the pain he knew the potions master had, he wasn't sure if he should try.

  "Sirius?"

  He turned to find Harry watching him curiously. "What is it?"

  Harry grinned. "Remus and I were wondering if you wanted to join us this weekend in Hogsmeade. Ron is going to be there, as well as Seamus. We're also going to ask Severus if he wants to come along, seeing as it's his last weekend here. You think he'll come?"

  Sirius took a moment to think about it. He had already been planning to ask if Severus would come with him to Hogsmeade to talk about some of their new potions. It would be a little more difficult to do so with the others there, but he couldn't find a reason to say no.

  "Sure, I'll be there. Why don't I ask Severus?"

  "Ask me what?" Severus said to Sirius' right. His discussion with Poppy was obviously over, as Sirius heard her talking with Sinistra on her other side.

  "You want to come with us to Hogsmeade?" Harry asked, smiling. "You don't have to stay all day with us, but you can join us at The Three Broomsticks for lunch."

  Sirius watched as Severus thought it over. He wondered what he thought about one of his former students – and former hated student at that – asking him if he wanted to join them. Sirius could see him wavering about it, so he decided to speak up. "I'm going with them, but we could always stop at the apothecary. Didn't you say you wanted to show me something there before you left?"

  A spark quickly appeared and disappeared in Severus' onyx eyes, too quick for Sirius to read. "I will accompany you for a short time. It will depend on when Albus is coming to pick me up."

  Sirius was a little disappointed at the answer, but at the same time he was happy that they would have more time to spend together before Severus left Hogwarts. Well, he would just have to make the most of it.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

  Sirius watched the crowd in The Three Broomsticks, content to nurse his butterbeer. He and Severus had been left on their own once lunch was over. A half-grin touched his lips as he remembered just how uncomfortable Ron and Seamus had been in their former potions instructor's presence. He had also noticed that Harry and Remus hadn't noticed it at all, both of them far too interested in each other to tell what was going on.

  That made the grin turn full-fledged. It was great to see the two most important people in his life happy. Each of them deserved it, even if he was left out of the loop. Not that he wanted to join them, but it was only recently that he knew it was because he wanted someone to be with like that.

  Shaking off such thoughts, since they usually lead to nowhere, Sirius turned to Severus.

  "So, when does Albus come to pick you up?" he asked, hoping that his voice didn't reflect his sorrow at losing his friend.

  "Tomorrow," Severus answered. "Minister Sumner required him to stay another day in regards to Draco finishing his education at Hogwarts."

  Sirius stared at him. "Is that going to be a problem?"

  Severus shook his head. "It's a matter of keeping him safe. Several of the governors wish that he be educated elsewhere to protect him, since his father was a prominent Death Eater. It's only a matter of time before those who during the war were touched by Lucius think of revenging themselves with his son."

  "Mm." Sirius could see that, but he wished people weren't so revenge happy. Including him, which had almost involved him getting The Kiss because he had almost killed Pettigrew rather than capture him to gain his freedom. He had no other thought than revenge when he had managed to catch up with his former friend, and it was only because Harry had been with him that saved him.

  "What about Lucius?" he asked. "From what The Daily Prophet had been reporting, several people have sighted him since Hermione's death."

  Severus was quiet, and Sirius had just thought that he wasn't going to answer when he did.

  "If he learned that Draco is awake, he will come here." Severus gave him a swift look, too quick for Sirius to read everything that was in the black eyes. He did see a lot of fear for his former student, mixed in with guilt. "Albus and I have worked with Flora and Poppy to strengthen the wards in the hospital wing, offering some needed protection. The rest will be up to the staff if Lucius does gain entry to the castle."

  Sirius sighed. He didn't really want a showdown with his former classmate, especially when the other man knew a hell of a lot darker spells than he did. "Have you told Remus or Harry?"

  Severus nodded. "I told Po – Harry about it, since he is Draco's most regular visitor. He will be tutoring Draco, both in Transfigurations and Charms, each night after dinner."

  Sirius smiled at that. He could still remember the uproar Severus had put up when he had discovered that Harry and Draco were working together for the order. It had been shortly after Sirius had caught Wormtail, and the potions master had not been happy to be proven wrong about Sirius' innocence. When he learned that his favorite and least favorite students were becoming friends, Severus had tried to raise the roof. Sirius suspected that Severus had still seen Harry they way he had the first four years of his schooling, and had ignored the changed wrought in Sirius' godson after the third task in the Tri-Wizard Tournament. Even now, two years after that incident, it was quite funny to see Severus stiffen when he talked about Draco and Harry working together.

  Still, he was worried that just being around Draco would hurt Harry. He knew that his godson would be a target for a long time because of Voldemort's defeat by him, but Lucius was not a man to be crossed. And yet, Sirius held hope that Harry's anger about what the man did to his best friend would help his cause rather than hurt it.

  "I will be coming here to check on him sometime before Christmas," Severus said, interrupting Sirius' worried thoughts. "Just because I am no longer his teacher does not mean that I cannot visit with him."

  "Good," Sirius said. He saw a surprised look cross Severus' face. "What? I'm pretty sure that those of us here will be watching out for him, so it's no surprise that you would do the same. After all, you helped him stay out of his father's reach as long as you could."

  A flash of guilt crossed the potions master's face, telling Sirius that the emotion was a partial motivator to his visiting Draco. "Severus," he said, laying a gentle hand on the other man's arm. "It isn't your fault, you know. If it hadn't happen there, it probably would have happened anyway."

  He could tell by looking at the other man that Severus didn't believe him. Sirius knew enough to let up on the subject for the moment, though, and caught Rosmerta as she passed and ordered two more butterbeers.

  "Sirius, you don't have..."

  "No. Since you're going to be leaving, it's the least I can do," Sirius cut him off. "And after we're done with these, we can head off to the apothecary and then back to school. I wanted to see if using the thornberry root would get a better reaction out of the Tomosu potion than the laceberry root."

  Two hours later found them slowly making their way back to the castle. Most of the students were still in Hogsmeade, as were most of the teachers. Both of them had talked to Remus and Harry as the passed by, the latter two on their way back to the castle of the Head of House meeting for Remus to attend. They were almost at the Shrieking Shack when Severus stopped.

  "Severus?" Sirius was alarmed at the expression on the other man's face. It looked like he was in serious pain.

  "Take me... Poppy," Severus managed to get out as he ground his teeth together in a tight grimace.

  Knowing that something was seriously the matter, Sirius shrunk their packages and shoved them in his pockets. As soon as they got to the door closest to the infirmary, he picked Severus out of his chair, not bothering with the levitation spells he would need to maneuver around the stairs. Rushing towards the hospital wing, Sirius could feel Severus flinching in pain as he moved, even though he was being as careful as he could.

  "Poppy!" Sirius burst through the doors, gently setting Severus down on the first available bed. Ignoring the curious students unfortunate to be stuck in the hospital wing, he made a mad dash to the nurse's office. Finding her seated behind her desk, he said, "Poppy, it's Severus. He...."

  Poppy rushed out of the office, hurrying over to where Severus was laying. "When did this start?" she asked as she pulled her wand out of her sleeve and uttered a spell, the tip of the wand glowing slightly.

  "About ten minutes ago," Sirius answered. Severus didn't look up to answering any of the nurse's questions, as his eyes were tightly shut.

  "You were in Hogsmeade?"

  Sirius nodded.

  "Any alcohol?"

  "No. A couple of butterbeers. Steak and kidney pie for lunch," he said, figuring that would be her next question.

  "Did anybody else have it?"

  Sirius nodded again. "I did."

  Poppy's wand had stopped over Severus' stomach. "Well, it's not something he ate," she muttered under her breath. Using a different spell, she ran her wand over Severus again and stopped at the same point.

  Sirius watched anxiously as she nodded quickly before turning to the potions cupboard.

  "Severus, I'm going to give you something for the pain," she said as she poured a small vial of the red liquid in her hands. "I need to know if it's stopping it." She held the vial up to his lips, being careful to get it into his mouth.

  "More," Severus ground out after a minute.

  Poppy turned to Sirius. "If this next dose isn't enough, I'll need to get him to St. Mungo's as quickly as possible."

  Sirius gave a swift nod and watched as the second dose was given. It seemed to do the trick as Severus' face relaxed.

  Poppy gave a sigh of relief before going back to the cupboard and pulling out a second potion. Pouring that into a goblet, she gave it to Severus when he opened his eyes. "This is a Dreamless Sleep potion. It'll help relax you while I find out what's going on. It's enough to last three hours, Severus."

  Nodding, the potions master quickly swallowed the potion and Sirius and Poppy watched as he fell asleep.

  "What do you think it could be?" Sirius asked as Poppy ran through a couple of spells.

  "I'm not sure," the nurse replied. "I'll find out what I can, but I'll make sure that the doctors at St. Mungo's check him out just to make sure. It seems to be coming from his lower back where he was injured."

  Sirius was surprised. "Do you think he'll get any feeling back?"

  Poppy sighed. "I don't know."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

  Sirius could hear voices from the other room. He sat next to Severus' bed, the other man having been moved to one of the private rooms so he could rest. Harry and Remus had stopped by, worried when neither Sirius nor Severus had shown up at dinner. While Sirius was happy that they were concerned about Severus, all he wanted was for Severus to wake up.

  Finally standing up, he stretched slowly, feeling the knotted muscles in his back protest his sitting for so long. Once he was done with that, he looked over at Severus. A hair had fallen across one cheek as he shifted slightly in his sleep. Reaching over, Sirius moved it aside, finding that Severus' hair was soft to the touch. It wasn't greasy either, a fact he had subconsciously noticed over the course of the summer. Of course, the potions master wasn't in the dungeons for twenty-odd hours a day, but the fact had made Sirius think about what else he'd had misconceptions about his friend.

  He realized he was still brushing Severus' cheek. Pulling back slightly, Sirius was glad the other man was asleep as a blush spread over his face. When Severus didn't do anything more than move into the warmth of his fingers, Sirius bent down closer and hesitated. Figuring that he had been put into Gryffindor for a reason, he moved all the way and pressed his lips against the other man's cheeks.

  "Wake up soon, Severus," he whispered, the sound little more than a soft breeze. Sirius pulled back all the way and sat back down in his chair, wearily covering his eyes with one hand.

  He was startled out of his confusing thoughts a minute later when movement from the bed sounded. Looking up, he saw that Severus was wearing a pained expression on his face. Jumping up, Sirius grabbed his hand.

  "Severus! Do you need me to get Poppy?" he asked anxiously.

  The man in the bed shook his head. "Not yet." Severus' voice was but a mockery of the smooth, dark voice Sirius had become used to. He opened his mouth to speak when Severus continued. "I – in my dream... I thought," he trailed off, his confusion evident in his disjointed words. "I thought you kissed me."

  Sirius tried to keep his shock and embarrassment at being caught hidden. Swallowing hard enough that he could hear it, he nodded. "Yes," he whispered.

  "Why?"

  He looked at Severus as he lay on the bed, the sharp eyes dulled slightly by pain. He suddenly realized why he had kissed the other man. Leaning over Severus once more, he stopped when his lips were just centimeters away from his. "Because I love you." With that, he gently brushed Severus' lips with his. There was no response from the other man for a couple of seconds.

  Sirius went to pull away when the mouth under his opened up and arms went around his neck pulling him in closer. He quite liked the sensation he then got as a tongue brushed hotly against his lips and then got lost in it.

**********

AN: And they kiss!!!!!!!!! When I manage to stay awake long enough, I'll get the next chapter out Monday. Maybe.

This is a rough draft, given a cursory glance by my beta, who happens to share the same strain of flu I have, so there are no guarantees on the coherency of this chapter. If there are problems, I'll correct them with the next chapter.

Thanks to everybody that's reviewed! (No individual thank you's this chapter... I'm going to crawl back into bed..... *muttering* stupid flu)


	14. Chapter 14

******

******

Chapter 14

  Sirius pulled back from the kiss, breathing hard. Severus wasn't much better as he lay back down on the bed, pulling Sirius on top of him.

  "Sev..."

  A finger to Sirius' lips stopped his talking. "Shh. Just lay here with me."

  He let the other man pull him onto the bed, half-terrified by how Severus was acting. It wasn't like him to be this vulnerable. Sirius wasn't sure if it was because of the kiss or if he was in pain, but he would make sure that he was comfortable.

  "I will," Sirius whispered into Severus' hair. "I'll stay as long as you want me to." He sounded so sappy, but Severus must have liked it because he got as close as he could to Sirius without climbing inside of him.

  "Stay here forever."

  Sirius didn't know if he had heard right, so he just held on a little tighter and followed Severus into sleep a couple minutes later.

  "Forever."

******

  Harry pulled his head back from around the door and looked at Remus.

  "You were right, Remy," he whispered as he leaned against his lover.

  "Then they're in there doing some*thing*?" Remus asked, wrapping his arms around the younger man. He felt Harry nod against his shoulder and his breath on his neck. "What?"

  "Sleeping."

  "Good. Padfoot was starting to get antsy."

  Harry laughed. "The last time I saw him like that was after I fought with Voldemort."

  Remus felt a shiver go down his spine. Even though the battle was a year-and-a-half in the past, it made him shudder to think that he could have lost Harry before ever finding him. He doubted that he and Sirius wouldn't have been able to go on if Harry had fallen that day, even if he had won. And himself.... It may have taken him a year to recognize his own feelings for Harry, but he knew that if the younger man had been killed in that battle, it would have been hard for him to go on. Harry was one of the reasons why Remus was fighting in the first place – he hadn't wanted the son of one of his best friends to have to grow up in a war-torn world.

  "What are thinking about, Remy?"

  He smiled at Harry. "You."

  "Me?" Green eyes lit up. "You wouldn't have been thinking about our bed, would you?" He waggled his eyebrows suggestively.

  Remus chuckled. "No." Harry began to pout, so he added, "But it's an excellent idea."

  Harry grinned. "I know. I also know for a fact that neither one of us has any papers to be grading and that we won't be needed until tomorrow at the latest as most of the students will be in Hogsmeade."

  Remus looked at him. "Then what are we standing here for?"

  Harry grabbed his hand and tugged on it, pulling Remus a little closer. Kissing him for a brief second, Harry started down the hallway. "Let's go."

  "I have no problem with that," Remus replied as they went down the hallway.

******

  Draco blinked at the bright sunshine coming through the door as it opened in front of Harry.

  "Hi, Draco," the black-haired man greeted as he shut the door and crossed the room to the bed where Draco lay. "So, when's Poppy finally going to let you out of here?"

  Draco heaved a put-on sigh. "Never it seems."

  "Ah." Harry opened his bag and brought out a couple of books. "These are the last of the books you'll need for your DADA homework. Remus said that you'll have to use at least two in your essay, but the more references you use, the better it will be."

  One blond eyebrow rose. "Is that a hint just for me, or for the rest of the students as well."

  Harry directed him a Look. "Everybody, you idiot."

  Draco scowled playfully. "Making fun of your students, now, Professor Potter?"

  The black-haired man laughed. "Only you, Draco. I know that you know Remus wouldn't favor any student over another. I don't either, for that fact," he said, shrugging his shoulders.

  Draco just eyed him before looking over the books. He knew that he would end up using all of them for his essay, all the while wondering if Harry had gotten them by himself or had asked Madam Pince to gather them together. He knew the other man wouldn't admit it, and since he was stuck in the hospital wing for at least another week, he couldn't very well go and ask the Librarian.

  Instead of asking that question, he asked, "Did Professor Snape get off to St. Mungo's okay?"

  Harry nodded. "Albus collected him, but both of them will be here later today. It seems there's been an interesting development between the potions master and the current potions professor."

  Draco snorted. "Yeah, right, Harry. That's a good one."

  Harry didn't laugh like he had expected. The blond eyed the man sitting in the chair next to his bed and saw that he was wearing a serious expression. "You're not kidding."

  "Nope," Harry said. "It seems that they're going to work on a relationship."

  Draco began to wonder if he was trapped in a bad novel. The last he had known of Snape and Black's relationship was that they were willing to work together, but would rather not be in the same room as each other. If they were together like Harry said, it would take some getting used to. He certainly didn't want to *see* anything of it.

  Shaking his head, he began to talk about the Transfiguration homework that Harry had given him the other day. Deep in a discussion over the legality of human transfiguration into inanimate objects, neither of them noticed the door to the side wing where Draco's bed was open.

  Out of the corner of his eye, Draco saw a light flash and instinctively ducked it as it came closer. Looking up, a wave of terror filled him as he found his father standing at the foot of his bed. The older Malfoy's hair was disheveled and dirt was streaked across his face. The once rich robes he was wearing were in tatters.

  "So, this is where you've been hiding, boy," Lucius snarled.

  "Lucius," Harry sneered under his breath. "You have two seconds to leave before I take you out."

  Draco sat up, surreptitiously pulling his wand from his sleeve where he kept it. "Wait, Harry."

  The other two men in the room looked at him. Lucius was watching him with a knowing smirk on his face, while Harry looked at him, questioningly. Draco knew that his father was thinking that this would be just like the duel where he had 'killed' him almost two years ago.

  "Who was that I killed, *father,*" he snapped at the older Malfoy.

  Lucius laughed. "One of my better ideas," he said, casually holding his wand so that it pointed between Harry and Draco. "I must admit that getting Flint's boy to drink Polyjuice Potion to take my place was a brilliant idea. Though, I had no idea that you were with that fool Dumbledore."

  Draco saw that Lucius had narrowed his eyes menacingly at the last sentence. This was what he had been trapped into thinking the last month or so since he had woken up. Now was his chance to tell his father what he had wanted to tell him since the middle of his fifth year.

  "He's not a fool, Lucius." He knew he'd hit the man at the end of the bed in a vulnerable spot. Lucius had counted himself among the lucky ones of the Death Eaters for having the most intelligent child of the next generation. The older Malfoy had boasted Draco's progress throughout his schooling at Hogwarts – often taunting the others with his acceptance to Durmstrang and the American school of The Salem Institute, which took only the top students around the world. "Besides, anyone who sided with *Voldemort* has fallen from grace, including you. Where are your lands now, Lucius? What about all the money you took pride in having?"

  Lucius scowled, his eyes meeting his son's.

  "What about Hermione?"

  Harry's quiet, loathing-filled question startled both Malfoys from their glaring match.

  "Just who was it that you felt wasn't worth their life to play you in a battle to the death? Or even your wife?!"

  Draco watched, wide-eyed, as the black-haired man's temper let loose. He'd never seen the former Gryffindor get so mad at anyone other than the Dark Lord, and that had only been once.

  "Expelliarmus!" Lucius' spell caught both Draco and Harry off guard, and the older man smirked as he caught both their wands. "I suppose I could tell you, since after I tell you I'm just going to kill you anyway."

  Draco glowered at his father and noticed Harry doing the same. Still, there was a calculating gleam in the green eyes of the man standing beside his bed.

  "I'll start with Narcissa, then, since she is – was – your mother," Lucius began, throwing a glare at Draco. "The stupid woman didn't want you to become a Death Eater so soon. Her *baby* was too young, never mind that you'd been able to cast both the Cruciatus and Imperio curses since fourteen." The older blond laughed. "She learned just how powerful those curses really were."

  In the bed, Draco felt a chill press along his spine. Why hadn't he seen just how cold his father really was? Growing up in Malfoy Manor, he'd noticed nothing like this. It made him wonder if his father had always been like this, but he'd been so wrapped up in his worship of his father that he'd been blind.

  "And Flint's boy. Marius. He left the year before you started school, but he should never been in school at that fact. His intelligence was low enough for him to be sorted into _Hufflepuff,_ a fact that embarrassed his father to no end. The only thing that ever made his father proud was that he managed to get rid of McGonagall once and for all."

  Draco thought he heard Harry growl, but he wasn't sure he heard correctly.

  "And the Mudblood." Lucius smiled, a sight that made Draco shiver. "A stupid girl she was. I'm surprised that she managed to beat my *son* in most of his subjects up until fifth year, when the _Boy Who Lived_ stole what should have been my son's spot at the top of the year away. Still, I managed to find the information that my son was actually alive, and her fighting was most invigorating. Fun indeed."

  "You sick mother-fucker."

  Draco's head whipped around to see Harry standing tall, his fists clenched at his sides. It was at this point he could feel the waves of disgust and hate flowing from his friend towards his father. It wasn't any different from what he was feeling at the moment, so he didn't think much of it until Harry shot out his hand.

  "STUPEFY!"

  Grey eyes widened as Draco watched his father fall to the floor, his body crumpled in a heap. Harry casually stepped over to him and plucked all three wands from Lucius' hands.

  "How...?" Draco asked as he watched Harry walk to the door and open it.

  Harry shrugged. "Let me get Poppy and Flora, and then we can talk, okay?"

  Draco nodded. He figured he could wait a few minutes for the explanation. Besides, he really didn't want to be in the same room as his father any longer than necessary.

******

  Half an hour after Harry had calmly told him that Lucius Malfoy was presently tied up in the Headmistress' office, Sirius whistled under his breath. He'd known that Harry had been powerful – he'd needed to be so to defeat Voldemort – but he hadn't really thought about just how much power his godson had.

  It had shocked him when he had learned that Harry and Voldemort had brother wands at the end of the Tri-Wizard Tournament. Now, though... it was taking a little longer for him to process the fact that the man he considered his son could do wandless magic – powerful wandless magic at that – better than some could with their wand. Harry had had to learn it, though, since he couldn't exactly use his wand against Voldemort, even when chances were that they wouldn't cast a spell at the same time they did in the graveyard in Little Hangleton.

  Still, he knew that no matter what Harry did, he'd love him like he always had – from the time he'd first seen him hours after he was born, to the time when one of them died (which Sirius hoped wouldn't be for a _long_ time).

  As the impromptu meeting broke up, a knock on the door alerted the group to Dumbledore and Severus' arrival. Sirius tamped down the surge of feelings that erupted in his chest at seeing the other man. Still, he couldn't help the smile that spread across his lips as he watched Severus wheel himself into the room.

  He waited as patiently as he could while the two men greeted the others, watching for his chance to steal the potions master from the room into a more private part of the castle so they could talk. Finally seeing his chance, he ignored Severus' protests for the five minutes it took for him to get them to a small room close to the potions classroom.

  "What is all this about?" Severus asked as Sirius transfigured one of the stools in the room into something more comfortable to sit in.

  Sirius grinned. "Is that any way to greet me after we don't see each other after three weeks?"

  The other man gave an exasperated sigh. "I seem to remember numerous owls being directed my way while Albus and I were at St. Mungo's."

  A shrug was the reply. "It's not like I didn't get the same." Sirius gave Severus a steady look. The lines that were usually around the other man's eyes weren't as deep as they had been. Either it was what they were doing at the hospital or what Sirius was saying in their letters – he personally thought it was the second reason – but Severus looked much better than he had at the end of the school year. The only other time he'd seen the potions master like this had been on the island over the summer. "Have you been able to find anything to help with the pain?"

  Severus gave a curt nod. "We've tried several different potions, but most of them have such severe side effects that it usually isn't worth it at the end. I'm hoping that we'll be able to improve a couple of them, though, as they hold promise."

  Sirius chuckled lightly. "Just in this for my brains?"

  One fine, black eyebrow lifted, as if to question the fact that Sirius had a brain. It was times like these that made the animagus feel alive. Even though they were friends – and, even though they hadn't really discussed it, a lot more than that – they still argued quite a lot. He liked being able to see what Severus thought of things, and it made him look at the world differently than he had been. When they had both been younger, this situation would never had happened, and while Sirius knew he had been very immature, he knew Severus had been as well, though neither would ever admit it to the other.

  "A couple of the doctors think that my spinal cord wasn't as severed as they thought," Severus suddenly said in the comfortable silence that had settled over them.

  Sirius perked up. "So what does this mean?"

  Severus looked away briefly. "I don't know. The pain has gotten worse in the last week, however, so either they are right or there is something else wrong with my legs and the nerves in the rest of my body are getting the message."

  Moving the couple of inches to Severus, Sirius rested a hand on the other man's arm. "I'll help as much as I can, Severus. You can count on that."

  A hand crept over his own as the other man replied. "I know."

  Harry hummed quietly, trying to not wake up Remus. It was rather strange to wake up on Christmas on his own. On Christmas at the Dursleys, Aunt Petunia had only woken him up so that he could cook breakfast as she and Uncle Vernon had fawned over Dudley and his presents. And during his years as a student, it had taken Ron shaking him awake for him to realize just what day it way. Even last year, when Harry had his own room, his best friend had tugged the blankets off him, telling him to get a move on it so they could open presents.

  This year, however, he was determined to make this the best Christmas he'd ever had. Remus' present had been bought and wrapped more than a month ago, but Harry had wanted to do something special to go with it. Enlisting the help of Dobby and a few other house-elves, he had gotten together a nice holiday breakfast that the two of them would share – Sirius telling him earlier in the week that he would be with Severus and some of the other teachers who regularly stayed for the holiday.

  Just as he finished setting up the last of the decorations, a sleepy, pleased sound came from the direction of the bedroom door into the large living area of their rooms. Looking up, Harry had to smile at the picture Remus made. The other man's pajama top was half un-buttoned, just enough to make Harry want to finish the job, but not just yet. The blond-brown hair was in a tangled mess around his ears, the grey streaks seeming to disappear into the mess.

  "Happy Christmas," Harry greeted him as he walked over to give his lover a hug.

  "Happy Christmas." Remus wrapped his arms around Harry in answer. "What's all this for?"

  Harry pulled back. "I wanted to show you a little extra loving this morning, as well as not having to go down to the Great Hall for breakfast. Flora already promised that if any of the students who remained for the holiday would be directed to her if they had any problems, so we have most of the day to ourselves. Sirius and Severus will be joining us for dinner. If you'd like," he added.

  Remus nodded. "You've been planning this for a while, haven't you?"

  Harry smiled at the pleased tone of Remus' voice. "Yes," he said emphatically. Pulling away, he led Remus to the table, directing him to one of the chairs.

  Next to both of their plates were their presents but one, the one from Harry to Remus, which was too big to put on the table. Remus smiled at the sight, making Harry glow slightly at the sight of it.

  "Shall we?" Remus asked as he lifted one of the covers on the food. "Oh! My favorite!"

  Harry nodded. "They're all your favorites," he said. "And since most of them are my favorite breakfast foods, I think it'll satisfied both of us, yes?"

  Remus laughed. "Definitely."

  Soon, though, both of them had full stomachs and were eyeing their piles of presents. Deciding that he would save Remus' for last, Harry pulled out his present from Ron. Finding the enchanting figurine of a stag and lily twined together, Harry looked up to see Remus smiling at his present from Albus – a signed copy of his new book: Hogwarts, The Unauthorized History. Harry felt a bittersweet emotion run through him. He was happy that his former Headmaster had finished the book he'd been secretly working on up until the war had restarted, and sad that Hermione would never get the chance to read *this* book about Hogwarts. Mentally shaking off the feeling, he dove back into the pile, finally ending up with Remus' gift to him.

  The medium sized box was wrapped in prancing reindeer, their antlers tangled in Muggle Christmas lights. Slowly untying the bow, Harry looked up and smiled at Remus, who was doing the same to the present Harry had gotten him.

  "Should we go on three?" Remus teasingly asked when he noticed Harry looking at him.

  Harry smiled. "Let's go at our own pace, shall we?" He couldn't wait long enough for Remus to unwrap his present – he was nervous at the reaction he would get. Throwing caution to the wind, Harry ripped the paper off his present and lifted the lid. Inside was a silky, dark green shirt. Lifting it out, he saw that the neckline was low. Low enough for the bite mark Remus had given him in late May to be seen by the world.

  He knew what this meant. Lifting his eyes from the shirt, he saw that Remus was waiting anxiously for his answer. Feeling his eyes fill with tears from the love sweeping through him, Harry gave a watery smile. "I love it," he whispered, sure that he wouldn't be able to speak louder than that.

  Remus smiled back, a tentative one that made Harry's heart ache at the sight of it.

  "You going to open mine?" he whispered, hugging the shirt to his chest.

  The other man looked a bit startled as he turned back to the half-unwrapped box beside his chair. Remus took a deep breath and finished tearing the paper off and threw open the top flaps. Harry knew that inside was another, smaller box and grinned when Remus tossed him a reproving look at the new present.

  "Open it!" Harry encouraged, almost bouncing in his chair in anticipation of what Remus thought of what was inside that box.

  Remus sent a sly look this time, and _slowly_ taking the plain, gold wrapping paper off. Harry scowled at him as he managed to get it all off and carefully lifted the hinged top...

  ...Only to slam it down.

  "Harry?"

  The younger man sucked in a breath at the incredulous look on Remus' face. Carefully setting his new shirt next to his plate, Harry rose from his chair and made his way to Remus, kneeling in front of him.

  "Remus Lupin, will you do me the honor of being my husband? To be my lifemate?"

  Harry was surprised when he saw tears in Remus' golden eyes.

  "Can we?"

  Smiling, Harry moved closer and wrapped his arms around the other man's waist. "Yes, thanks to our Minister. The two of us have been working on this for a couple of months, and it was passed last month."

  "So that's where you went that one weekend," Remus said as he opened the box again and took out the golden band that lay inside, its face etched with small leaves in which laid tiny ruby flowers. "You said you were getting my Christmas present."

  Harry nodded. "I was." He got off the floor and turned the ring so that Remus could read the inscription Harry had gotten on the inside of the band.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

  Remus sucked in a breath as he read the inscription.

  _Love is not love which alters when it alteration finds..._

  It was from his favorite sonnet by Shakespeare – 116. How had Harry...?

  Looking up at Harry, he couldn't do anything more than smile, even as he felt tears fall from his eyes. He didn't know what he'd done to deserve such a beautiful soul as Harry, but he would make sure that he would give everything he had in return.

  "Yes," he said. "Yes, I will be your husband as you will be mine, my lifemate, my partner."

  Lifting up his face, he placed a reverent kiss on Harry's lips, which returned it softly.

  "Yes."

******

  Sirius grinned at the audience that had gathered in the Great Hall. The crowd was chattering excitedly, waiting for the event that had been almost six months in the making. He was quite glad that it would be over in thirty minutes, as Molly Weasley had been very much the slave driver this past week. He loved the woman dearly for everything she had done to help Harry, but he didn't want to see her for a while as he recovered from the frantic pace she had set seven days ago.

  His eyes swept over the crowd and stopped at Severus, who sat in a chair in the front row. Next to his chair were a couple of crutches, his robes hiding the braces on his legs that he now wore. It had been a long, hard six months since Christmas, when Severus had been given the news that he may regain partial use of his legs. His body had healed itself enough to give him some movement and feeling in his lower extremities – which both of them had gladly demonstrated the night before, when they had celebrated their engagement in the big bed Sirius had claimed for his bedchamber.

  But for now he couldn't think of that as he saw the spell Albus sent to the instruments in the corner to begin the music. Next to him, Remus shifted slightly, whether it was in nervousness or happiness, Sirius didn't know. His best friend had expressed both when they had been talking earlier in the morning, when it seemed like Remus was about to toss his cookies. Both of them were dressed in navy blue robes, Remus' trim being a bright green, and Sirius' maroon.

  The music began and Sirius watched as the doors opened to reveal his godson, resplendent in golden robes trimmed in a bright green that mirrored his eyes. Beside him, Ron Weasley walked down the small aisle between the audience, wearing the same golden robes trimmed in maroon – even though he'd complained about the color.

  Finally the two men had stopped, Harry claiming Remus' hand as soon as they turned towards Albus.

  "Dear guests, we are gathered here to see the joining of these two wonderful men, Remus James Lupin and Harry James Potter, as husbands and lifemates."

  Sirius kind of tuned out at that, remembering the uproar Harry had stirred up when he had showed up for lunch Boxing Day, wearing the shirt that clearly showed the bite mark Remus had given him. If the mourning from those holding out hope of nabbing Harry had been bad before school had started the past September, it was nothing like what followed the news that came out December 27th. Sirius had gotten quite the kick out of the entire situation.

  As he watched his godson and his best friend be bound together, Sirius smiled at both of them. He thought back to a year ago, when they had first gotten together and how lonely he felt. Quickly looking over to where Severus was sitting, he held back his grin at the thought that he wouldn't ever be lonely again, now that he'd found somebody of his own to love and care for – even if the knowledge that if somebody had told him twenty years ago that he'd end up with Severus would have been told to go directly to St. Mungo's and do not collect 200 galleons. It was quite amazing how the world really worked.

******

  Harry couldn't stop smiling. Beside him, Remus was talking quietly with Albus as they watched the guests begin to take their leave. The ceremony had been wonderful, even if he'd gotten the feeling that Sirius wasn't paying all that much attention. He couldn't blame his godfather for that, though, not after learning that he and Severus had gotten engaged the night before.

  Looking over at the guests, he was surprised when he saw Ron and Draco talking very seriously over in a secluded corner. It wasn't all that unusual to see them together, but they tended to stick to general topics when around others. But still, Harry thought he could see something there. Draco was almost healed from his ordeal with his father in November, and Ron had finally gotten past all the emotions from Hermione's murder. Harry knew he would never stop loving her, even after her death, but he could see that he was beginning to care for the blond man he was talking to. It was time, and what better way to heal than to be with each other?

  A tug on his hand brought him back to the man next to him.

  "Ready?"

  Harry smiled and nodded. "As ready as I'll ever be," he said, giving his husband a slow kiss. In the background, he could hear a couple of hoots – the Weasley twins, no doubt – but couldn't be bothered by it.

  He was finally home.

**********

AN: Whew! It's done! I didn't think I'd ever get this chapter done – between recovering from the flu and then mandatory overtime at work, it seemed as if the world was conspiring to never give me time to sit down and write.

I had thought of breaking this up into two chapters like I had originally planned, but couldn't seem to do it. It all fit together so nicely (at least in my book).

I did some research on injuries like the Severus had and found that often times there is some feeling that eventually returns when the spinal cord is damaged. Sometimes the body will try its best to heal itself.

As for Ron and Draco, I may write their story, but I may not. If you would like to write it, let me know! tempusstella@yahoo.com (but if you write, let me know it's about Love Bite or I won't read it *mutters* stupid junk mail....)

Thanks to:

The Red Dragons Order: here you go!

AllAboutMe: Thanks! Happy reading!

Mystica: Thank you! Sometimes Drugs are good – except when you can't get the top off and have to go wake your sister so you can take them. Heh. Anyways (never mind me, antibiotics are still making me weird) I hope there was enough of Harry and Remus in this chapter. And while Siri is with Sev here, they weren't quite cooperating at the beginning of this chapter... And they want to keep fighting, but I won't go in that direction. *g* Another sweet, and sappy, chapter. About your Discworld fic, I've been meaning to ask you – what is Discworld? I've found that mentioned a lot, but I am quite out of that loop.

TommyBoy1822: Wow! All those capital letters! *grin* Thanks!

Moonlight: Thanks! Sev can use his legs, but he won't walk normally.

(no name left): Thank you! Just this little bit left, though.


End file.
